#she's also an expert on car cleaning now

[lucawrites11]

I love your Emy headcannons. I would love to know more about her as a teenager. Anything. The hangover one was really funny and relatable.

emy obviously learns to drive as a teenager. the only problem is that alessia is not the best driver in the world and freaks out everytime that emy so much as breathes near the steering wheel and leah is overprotective and strict and doesn't trust her to take it out of the driveway. everyone comes in from attempts at driving practice (leah and alessia know their limits, they got her a driving instructor but she needs to practice outside her lessons) either having a panic attack or in tears

emy ends up texting every adult in her life for help. she can't get in a car with either of her mums again. she's traumatised.

Georgia: breaks the satnav somehow, they got lost on country roads with no signal. emilia contemplates how her funeral would go until some very kind farmer comes and saves them.

Katie: they practised in a car park but cars kept interrupting them so katie took them to a field because she learnt on a field and they got stuck in the mud. emilia refuses to go anywhere near the countryside again. main roads only.

Kyra: brings snacks, they make it to a drive-through, order food and just end up eating and gossiping. not productive.

Lia: sees the state of emy's car, spends most of the time teaching emy how to properly clean it. no driving was done.

Keira: lifesaver, gives two amazing lessons but she lives too far from london to practice with regularly and emy is not ready to drive up motorways to visit her

Tooney: again lives too far away but she made a trip to london. she is, like alessia, terrible at driving. emy didn't know who was teaching who

Lotte: teaches her but also spends a lot of time telling her a bike should do her and she lives in london, she doesn't need a car. emy vaguely mentions she doesn't understand the tube map fully and lotte made her pull over so she could teach her because she grew up in london HOW COULD SHE NOT KNOW THIS

Alex Scott: freaks out. thought she could handle it but she can't. they have to pullover after a few minutes because alex is so stressed. emy films her little panic and sends it to the BBC and the next time alex interviews her it's just them debating whether emy left enough space between her and the car in front of her when she braked

Kim Little: originally said no, she didn't know if her heart could handle it but after hearing all of emy's stories she takes pity and teaches her. the best teacher and the only reason emy passed her test

[jinxthequeergirl]

The Ol switcharoo (pt4)

Stan x reader/ ford x reader

Summary: You journey into stanfords mind for the sake of the shack when you learn more than you probably should have

Warning: none Look, I'm trying to lay down more romance. The stakes are gonna get raised soon. We can't keep tiptoeing guys

Also sorry if it feels a little choppy and all over the place

Enjoy!

~~~~~~~~~☆~~~~~~~

Stanford had been distant a lot more than you would like to have admitted over the past few weeks. Sure, you'd get the kids together, and all of you would hang out and have your own little adventures, but more often than not, you couldn't find him before you followed your new adopted great niece and nephew out the door for the next great adventure or activity for the summer.

You loved going out with them, taking them to lunch, or to shop Dipper even more recently, inviting you to monster hunt again. But when you weren't invited and the kids went on their own journey, you found the house was only quiet.

In the what seemed to be rare and far in-between days stan was with the three of you, you felt a great wave of peace wash over you. The four of you laughing in the car after narrowly escaping one of stans crazy ideas, sitting with him on the back porch, watching the kids run around.

You felt a buzz inside you when you sat next to him, watching him laugh at dippers water balloon hitting the ground without a pop. You loved your routine with him before the kids arrived. It seemed like that was becoming all you knew.

But the shack felt different with laughter filling it up. And if you realized it or not, those two kids were bringing you closer to Stanford when he hung around. You took a deep breath and scooted in closer to Stanford, his arm instinctively wrapped around the back of the couch, letting you fill as much space next to him as you wished.

"I can't believe this is my life now. I don't know what i did to deserve this." He said, looking down at you as you now watched the twins in the yard. "Everything happens for a reason, remember?"

"I guess so." His hand fell softly onto your shoulder, snuggling you closer. "Look out!" You and Stanford both jumped up as one of the water balloons landed where you were once sitting.

"Can't a guy get any peace around here!?" You laugh at him as he runs out into the yard demanding a balloon.

The feelings washed away, knowing he'd be hiding by tonight.

He was right, though. You couldn't believe this was your life as of right now.

"Y/n?"

You hummed in response as you cleaned dippers cut. "Would you say your feelings for Grunkle stan are...of the romantic kind?" Mable asked from right beside her brother her own adventure wounds needing to be rented too.

"Mable!" Dipper yelped, knocking her over with a nudge. You laughed out loud at her question. "Sorry..sorry." You cleared your throat. "Excuse me. Mable, what would make you ask something like that?"

"Oh c'moonnn as a love expert-"

"Your twelve-"

"I can see how you and grunkle stan look at eachother, you've been friends for years, and you've really never felt anything more than friendship for him?"

You bit the inside of your cheek as you thought about her question. "I guess maybe a few years ago... but things were different back then, and I never knew how he felt about me. Besides, so much time has passed that I'm sure that old fart feels anything other than tired anymore." Mable jumped to her feet and smashed your cheeks together.

"Y/n it is my mission as a matchmaker and love expert of gravity falls. I make it my mission to get you and my grunkle together!"

"Mable, why do you even care? Grunkle stan has shown no interest in anything other than money since we've been here."

"Dippers got a point." You say pulling tables small hands from your face. "Besides, I'm not taking love advice from the girl who dated little Gideon not too long ago."

Mable's face grew red, and she pulled the neck of her sweater up. "Ugh, don't remind me." You chuckled again, refocusing the attention to the wounds on each kid as Dipper went back to explaining what had happened in the first place.

You'd gone the next few weeks thinking about mables question. Did you still have feelings for stanford?

It wasn't something you thought much about. You two just existed with eachother nothing ever really came out of it since you were young. Besides, you'd never make a move unless you knew his exact feeling for you. He'd been so secretive recently that the only way For that to happen, you'd have to get inside his mind to find anything like that out.

Of course that was almost impossible.

"Y/N THERES A LITTLE YELLOW GUY TRUING TO TAKE OVER STANS MIND WE NEED YOUR HELP DIPPERS GOING TO TAKE US IN THERE COME ON COME ON!"

Of course maybe you spoke to soon.

"Mable slow down! What's going on!?" You asked as she dragged you by the sleeve into the family room where Stanford sat sleeping.

"So like we saw little Gideon in the woods and poof a little yellow man appeared and he made a deal with him to go inside stans mind to get the code to the safe that Mr pines keeps the deed in." Soos explained in one long breath you could see his face Turing a strange shade of red and violet.

"Wha-"

"No time we need to go now before it's to late!" Mable cried before you could even think to ask for clarification or any follow up questions.

You followed along with what Dipper told you to do, and you watched as he read from an oddly familiar book.

You make a note to ask him about it later.

Your thoughts were cut off as dippers chanting got louder, and before you knew it, the world had melted away from you, and you were suddenly sitting in a patch of grey grass.

"Wow! This is stans mind?" Mable said, hopping up and looking at the grey landscape before you.

You pushed yourself and looked around jaw on the floor. "I've done some pretty crazy things in my day, but this is beyond me..."

"Thanks for coming along y/n!" Mable said.

"Of course! You know you can count on me for anything, kids."

"OK, we need to keep an eye out for the triangle guy." Dipper stated as you headed twoard the shack.

"Yea, look put for the triangle guy!" You jumped at the voice that appeared out if no were surprised to see it belonged to exactly what the kids and soos had said.

"It's him it's the guy!" Soos said in alarm pointing at the glowing shape.

"You leave our grunkles mind alone, you isosollies monster!" Mable shouted as she charged at him. "Mable!" You and Dipper shouted each holding out an arm to grab her.

You watched in horror as the triangle swallowed her up and waited a minute before spitting her back out into your arms.

"Stan's family, it's good to finally meet you! Some more than others!" He said, floating particularly close to you as he said so. You scowled at him and shielded Mable from him. "Names bill cipher."

"Get out of stans mind! You have no business here!" Dipper shouted.

"Trust me, kid! You're the only one who should be getting out of here your way over your heads." His one winked as he shot a finger gun twoard Dipper shooting ahole through him. "I'm gonna find that code and and you're not going to stop me!"

He flew away, leaving a triangle shape hole in the shack.

"We gotta get that code before that freak does." You said pausing to giggle as Mable reached her arm through the hole in dippers chest.

"Mable!" You coughed and put on a serious face. "Alright, kids...and soos.. let's go."

You lead the way into the shack of stans mind your eyes darting from door to door each labeled a different thing.

Fears, hopes, etc.

"Look! Stans memories!" Soos pointed out. You all ran into the hall watching memories play out all around you. "Quick, let's split up and cover more ground."

You turned to open a door but the mables' hand caught yours. "Look what I found!" She squealed with giddy. "You found the code? Already?" She shook her head and dragged you out down the memory hall and too a door with a heart carved into the wood. Signage warning against opening the door nearly covering every inch.

"What is this?" You asked the girl beside you. "Look for yourself." She lifted up a "get lost" sign to reveal the doors true label.

"Y/ns memories."

"Oh Mable I dunno...we should really be looking for the code."

"Oh, c'mon, you said it yourself that you never really knew what he felt for you it wouldn't hurt to look!"

"Yes, Mable, it would! the shack is at steak-"

Before you could continue, Mable had opened the door and pushed you in. "Face your fears y/n! Face your emotions!" She slammed the door shut on you. "Don't worry y/n we'll find the code before bill does, I'll come back for you when we do!"

you huffed and stood up dusting yourself off, this was ridicules you knew how Stanford felt about you you've known each other for what felt like your whole life. Besides you told Mable already if anything was to happen it would have by now. your hand grasped the door handle as you prepared to chase the twins and Soos down.

"Congratulations!" you heard a voice say from behind you. you turned to see one of the many doors cracked open. despite your better judgment to go after the kids you went straight for the door pulling it open. to see your wedding day.

well, your fake Vegas wedding. stan stood at the counter with the cashier in a dinky thrift shop on the outskirts of Vegas itself, waiting for you. "oh right..." you mumble to yourself watching your shared memory through Stans eyes.

"I'm sure you're very excited about the wedding." Stanford shrugged. "Trust me, I've been married a few times...this ain't nothing new for me." you frowned a little, you weren't sure why, you knew that's how he'd felt and it wasn't a real wedding. "Stanford! Look at this!!!" you yelled excitedly to him pushing open a dressing room curtain behind him.

you excitedly spun around in the wedding outfit you had picked out, you were so much younger, it suspired you too see yourself.

you watched Stanford's face flush upon seeing you his eyes fixated on you jaw almost on the floor. you didn't remember him looking at you like that. "wow you look...you look amazing!" he said rubbing the back of his neck trying to find the right words. you squealed in a pitch similar to the one Mable had done earlier before shutting the curtain again. "you were saying this wasn't something new?" the cashier asked raising a suspicious eyebrow.

"listen between you and me this whole Vegas wedding isn't anything new for me...they're corny, cheap and lousy all things y/n doesn't deserve any of that stuff, and I don't know why I'm telling you of all people, but I've known y/n for a while now the way she makes me feel isn't like how anyone has made me feel before I could never tell any of this too her, I've ruined to many relationships I could risk losing her in my life so try to act nonchalant about these types of thing, don't want to give myself away you know." the cashier stared at him unsure of how to react to all the information dumped onto him.

"here's 20 bucks to forget everything I said." he said sliding money across the counter.

you shut the door with a smile before looking down the long hallway. you crept over to another one. opening the door only to see a normal night you asleep on his shoulder as he continued to talk about the movie that was playing without realizing. it took him a whole monologue before realizing you had passed out. he leaned over careful not to wake you but enough to see you where sleeping.

he took a deep breath before talking some more. "Here goes nothing, y/n you've been with me through thick and thin when no one had my back you where there...I guess what I'm trying to say is y/n I...I think I have feeing's for you...you've made me an honest man in some ways...and.." you jumped upon hearing screaming.

"Oh no Kids!" you took off running swinging the door open and running down the hallway running past memories trying to find the kids. "Dipper!? Mable? Soos!?"

"Dipper!-"

"This here's a-"

"Stan Vac-"

"Stanley do something-" you could no longer hear the kids let alone see them in all the noise of Stanford's memories. you began running out of the memories hall in hopes you'd find them somewhere else. "Dipper!? Mab-" the wind was knocked out of you as you and dipper crashed right into each other. "Y/n! there you are!"

"Dipper you're ok! where is your sister and Soos!?"

"Bills got them! Don't worry I have a plan!" you followed dipper through Stanford's mind following his exact plan, you never even thought about what you could do in ones mind, flying and giant water guns didn't never even cross your mind.

"Hey one eye!" you and dipper grabbed bills attention as you floated up to his level neon colored squirt guns in hand. "WHAT!?"

"Dipper! Y/N! how are you doing that?"

"This is a mindscape you can do anything you imagine in here!" you explained."who told you that? dont liten to them!"

"ready dipper!?"

"ready y/n! aim and..."

"Fire!" you both shot your water guns at bills eye causing him to cry out in pain, you watched Mable conjure herself kitten fists and launched them at bill.

"Now think of a portal out of stans mind!" the four of you shut your eyes and all thought as hard as you could as a portal opened up under bill. "No No No wait! wait! wait! ENOUGH!"

you all flew back as the space around you was now a white void. "you know you're all a lot smarter than you look! I'll let you go for now, you might prove to be useful especially you y/n."

you scrunched your nose at him. "but remember there will come a day when everything you care about will change! until then I'll be watching you!"

there was a bright flash and he was gone. "well that wasn't ominous.." you said "we did it though! He left!" dipper cheered.

before you knew it Stan woke up and you were all wakening up in the Livingroom. and for a moment everything was normal again. "Ugh I had the weirdest dream." stan said rubbing his head. "You're ok!" you exclaimed running over to hug him and planting a quick kiss on his lips. his face heated up as you did so and before you knew it the kids had joined the hug.

a few hours later you'd gotten the kids to go to bed and found Stanford sitting on the back porch. "care for a drink?" you asked offering him a pitty cola he accepted with a smile. and you sat down next to him.

"where have you been?' you asked. a lot had happened today a lot that made you think things over and you decided to start there.

"what do you mean?" he asked with a chuckle. "I've been right here like i always have."

you shook your head. "Most days we can't find you, its been me and the kids or just me in the house, a lot has changed since those two came around most of its been for the better but i didn't think it would drive you away."

he frowned. "do you trust me?"

"Of course." you answered without hesitation.

"I've been working on something i cant tell you what but it's important. and I'll tell you what if it bothers you so much, I'll be around more." you smiled.

"good, I miss you." you said bumping into him.

you both chuckled and then there was a beat of silence you looked up at the sky and took a breath. "Stanford."

"Yea?"

"I think...we'll in light of some recent events...Stanford you mean the world to me."

"uh-oh is something wrong? why are you getting all sappy?"

you took another breath and exhaled all the words you were trying to say.

"Stanford pines I think I'm in love with you and I think you feel the same way about me!" you covered your mouth after you spilled it all. and he stared at you in shock. "Y/n...I uh..."

"I know this is random...buy. You know better late than never, right?"

stan stared at you in awe where your eyes sparkling in the starlight. was this really happening to him right now?

"Stanford?" you placed a hand over his when went silent. normally he would jump at an opportunity like this. sweep you off your feet. But as he stared at your hopeful eyes all he could do was wonder how much of what you felt was really for him, Stanley Pines and how much of it was for who you had believed him to be.

"Oh come on Grunkle stan! Take her on a date already!" Mables voice shouted from above you.

"Mable? what are you doing up!?" you shouted standing to your feet to look up at the twins practically hanging out their window. "yea c'mon Grunkle stan!" dipper agreed with his sister.

"Date! Date! date!" the two kids cheered into the night air.

"alright! alright!" stan said trying to shush them.

"y/n...would you do me the honors of going to dinner with me?" you laughed and his heart swelled at your answer. "Of course Stanford pines."

~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~

Taglist!:

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@chaneylhb

[cal-flakes]

╰┈➤ “i’ve got you..”

warnings: mentions of depression, restricted eating, descriptions of drug misuse.

summary: y/n can’t think of any other way to alleviate her pain. (this was a request, but i accidentally posted it instead of saving draft so the ask is gone.)

four days, it had been four days since rafe last heard from her, and he was starting to get anxious. the last time he saw her, she looked as though she wasn’t really there, more of a hollow shell than she’d ever been. he knew why, he knew she was spiralling, but she’d never disappeared on him like this before.

four days was a long time for them to not see each other, let alone not even exchange a phone call. rafe knew she needed some space, he knew she preferred to be left alone when everything came back up, and he was okay with that, as long as he knew she was okay. but this time, he didn’t. he had no clue.

he’d left phone calls, voicemails, texts, but to no avail. sighing, he swept a palm over his face in frustration, making the decision to just go over there.

he knew she’d be in, barry had called him a couple hours earlier to let him know he’d seen her on her way home from her shift at the wreck.

topper had also called him the day prior, having been to the wreck for some lunch with his mother. he took notice of her gaunt face which lacked colour and any sign of emotion. he made sure afterwards to pass this information onto rafe, letting him know she didn’t look good at all.

and it was true, she didn’t. she hadn’t been taking care of herself like usual, y/n couldn’t even remember the last thing she ate. she had no energy to wake up in the mornings, never mind eat and look after herself.

she settled on coffee and energy drinks to keep her going through the day, and then allowing herself to dissociate for hours when she got home.

the last few days y/n had been on autopilot. wake up, go to work, come home, go to sleep…it felt like it would never end. the pain in her chest only grew when she thought about it.

she never thought doing a deep clean of her apartment would be so detrimental. coming across an old photo of her and her late brother as kids certainly wasn’t on her to do list, and have it uproot her life for the next few days wasn’t either.

she missed him dearly, not a day went by when she didn’t think about him, her big brother. and it hurt. it hurt so much to the point she was now trembling, looking at the crumbling pills in her hand.

they were old, but they were the next best thing compared to sweet nothingness. utter bliss, is how her friend had describe them to her when she bought them a few months prior.

her friend was somewhat of an expert when it came to downers, he knew his shit, and she trusted him not to give her anything that was too much or too little.

falling back against the couch, allowing the pills to slip down her throat with a sip of water, she waited patiently for them to kick in as she stared at the television.

rafe on the other hand, was on his way over, drumming his fingers against the steering wheel restlessly. he’d finally given in to his worries, too anxious to keep his promise of space.

he just had a bad feeling. sure, he’d seen her in all sorts of states before, she’d been through a lot, so he was bound to experience the highs and lows. but this, this was different. y/n had never shut him out like this before, and his stomach was doing flips every minute.

the range rover screeched to a half outside of her apartment building, the patter of rain echoing throughout the car as it landed on the roof.

pulling out the key, he twirled the bunch in his hand nervously before getting out to head inside. fortunately, her apartment was only on the second floor, so there wasn’t too many stairs to climb.

all measures of privacy were thrown out the window as he neared her door, pulling the spare key from his pocket.

he took note of the lack of noise in her apartment, hearing nothing but the television on an unusually low volume. it was eerily uncommon for y/n to not have music and the television on, as well as whatever devices she had in use in the kitchen.

his heavy footsteps padded through the hallway into the open living room where she sat, completely unaware of his presence. “y/n?” no response.

rounding the couch, he planted his feet in front of the television, causing her to jump at his sudden appearance. “y/n?” he asked again, his usually confident tone faltering.

“r-rafe…what…here?” she mumbled, her eyes flirting between him and the floor, barely open.

his mouth fell agape as he really took in her appearance. her cheeks were hollow and her eyes were unusually glassy, which was unfortunately familiar to him. he’d seen the same look in others eyes, completely catatonic.

slowly, he moved towards the couch, sitting down beside her to get a better idea of her current state of mind.

her head turned slowly to face him, still slumped against the back of the couch as a weak smile flashed across her lips.

“have you taken something?” he questioned, leaning closer to observe her. her head shook ambiguous, almost not answering his question as she reached a hand out.

looking down at her open palm, his jaw clenched as his eyes met the white residue left on her fingertips. “how many did you take?”

her hand trembled as she signalled a two with her fingers, her eyes now avoiding his.

pulling her in gently, he rested her head against his chest, his other arm reaching over her hips to pull her closer. she sank into his arms as he stroked her hair, pressing the odd kiss to the crown of her head.

“i wish you’d let me help you angel, i’d have been here in a heartbeat if i knew you needed me..” he muttered, his eyes now welling with hot tears.

tilting his head, he lay his cheek on top of her head as she rubbed hers against his chest, a silent nudge that she was listening.

her free hand clasped around his elbow, weakly pulling his hand from her head, his brows furrowing as she did. his confusion subsided as she interlocked her dainty fingers with his.

her eyes remained fixed on the television as they held each other, scared the other night fade away if they let go.

“i’m not going anywhere baby, ever. m’kay? i love you so much..” he whispered, a few stray tears seeping into the roots of her hair.

she nodded slightly against his chest in agreement, letting out a breath as he shuffled on the couch, moving to lie down. pulling her further onto him, she nuzzled into his arm as they lay there together, sharing silent tears.

“i love you y/n, more than you’ll ever know…”

[bitterkarella]

Midnight Pals: Poltergeist

Steven Spielberg: submitted for the approval of the midnight society, I call this the tale of the poltergeist Spielberg: now unfortunately, i'm kinda committed to tell a different story over at space coven tonight Spielberg: so my good friend tobe hooper is gonna tell this one for me Tobe Hooper: it's actually pronounced toe-bee Spielberg: Spielberg: what

Tobe Hooper: so this is a story about an average suburban family who suddenly finds a ghost in their TV Spielberg: hey can i add something Hooper: steve you said i could tell it Spielberg: oh yeah yeah definitely Spielberg: i just have Spielberg: just a little suggestion

Spielberg: hey tobe Tobe Hooper: actually it's pronounced Toe-bee Spielberg: Spielberg: what Hooper: it's pronounced- Hooper: you know what, never mind, what's on your mind steve

Spielberg: can we put in some jokes Hooper: jokes? yeah sure i guess Spielberg: like, maybe a guy could fall off a bicycle Spielberg: ha ha ha Spielberg: or maybe Spielberg: ha ha ha Spielberg: spill beer on himself Spielberg: hoo hoo ha ha ha!

Hooper: so this family includes coach from coach Hooper: and a sexy mom in short shorts Edward Lee: nice Hooper: and a dog Dean Koontz: nice

Hooper: ok so imagine there's this really creepy sequence where the dog wanders through the sleeping house, the world silent but for the static from the television Spielberg: spooky! Spielberg: ok ok my turn Spielberg: next some kids use RC cars to make a fat guy fall off a bike Spielberg: ha ha ha ha ha! Spielberg: ha ha ha ha ha! Hooper:

Spielberg: c'mon, tobe! laugh! It's funny! Spielberg: look, tobe, we don't want this story to be TOO scary Hooper: but Spielberg: in fact, i think it would be really good if, anytime something scary happened, then something goofy could happen to immediately deflate the tension Spielberg: i think that would be great!

Tobe Hooper: steve i think our story could really delve into the discomfort around the growing omnipresence of the television in our lives Spielberg: what? who are we, david cronenberg? Spielberg: just wait a year, let videodrome deal with that shit Hooper: but Spielberg: look trust me people are gonna love this RC car gag

Hooper: so this family has a ghost in their house Spielberg: hey tobe can i interject just a little thing Hooper: uh Spielberg: this family also has a crap ton of star wars toys Spielberg: like, all the kids toys are star wars related Hooper: Hooper yeah ok whatever

Hooper: so the family hires these psychics to help get the ghosts Hooper: and they bring in this expert psychic Hooper: no introduction or nothing, she's just there King: what's her name? Hooper: no time for that!

Hooper: so now the ghost attacks the sexy mom Hooper: while she's wearing her oversized football jersey as a night shirt Piers Anthony: can we um Anthony: can we see her Anthony: can we see her um Anthony: you know Hooper: oh yeah Anthony: [pumping fist] YES!!!!

Hooper: so the house, in fact, was not clean Spielberg: hey tobe what if the beast looked like a big giant skull Spielberg: just huge Hooper: that's a little on the nose steve Spielberg: maybe like one of those giant Spirit superstore inflatable yard decorations

Hooper: i'm trying to build a scary atmosphere here steve! Hooper: and you're just goofing it up! Spielberg: i'm just trying to help Hooper: well, you're not helping! Hooper: if it was up to you, we'd just have skeletons blasting out of the ground all over the place like goddamn gophers! King: ooh that would rule! Poe: yeah interesting idea Koontz: i want to see that! Hooper: Hooper: you've got to be fucking kidding me

Hooper: you know what Hooper: who cares Hooper: who cares about anything Hooper: skeletons just start popping out of everything Hooper: you guys like that??? King: yeah that's great! Poe: it's good stuff Barker: nice Koontz: i like when the skeletons are there Lovecraft: its pretty scary! Hooper: Hooper: i'm done with you guys Hooper: DONE

[drghostwrite]

Holding onto you

Pairing: Callie Torres x reader

Summary: not sure lol… there aren’t enough Callie fics and throughout the show she had some pretty rough relationships, so here’s some fluff for the Dr. Torres. It’s kinda nothing then smut then fluff, this will be a multi part story!

Warning: Smut!

******************************************************** you pulled your car into the long drive way climbing out and fumbling to find your house keys.

you opened the door and looked around the house that was eerily quiet all the lights were still out. You went around flicking on the lights, “Callie?” You called but no answer.

“Callie, baby are you here?” No answer so you walked back out and saw her car sitting in your shared driveway.

“that’s weird, where is she?” You whispered to yourself and crept your way up the stairs. You peaked in your bedroom and then saw the note taped to the door, big trauma I was called in, welcome home my love.

You had been away for a conference but decided that you were ready to go back to work so you changed your clothes and made your way to Grey Sloan. The storms were raging as you drove to the hospital, rain beat down on your windshield, you parked and ran in through the front doors. The receptionist at the desk perked up, “how can I help you?”

“Hey…” before you could finish she recognized you and directed you to the OR where Callie was currently operating. You quickly thanked her and ran to change into a clean and dry pair of scrubs.

as the elevator doors slid open you stepped through straightening out your clothing with your hands, you made your way to the gallery only to be greeted by a curious group of interns watching your wife operate. You sat down next to the group, “so any updates?” you asked and started talking to the small group. Part way through the conversation one of the girls recognized you, “Oh my God… your Y/N Devine like doctor Y/N Devine!”

“well yes and no” you chuckled with a small smirk.

“What do you mean yes and no?… I’ve watched your techniques, I tried to get into Harvards program just to study under you.”

“way to suck up there Jo…” some of the other girls scoffed.

“well I mean yes as in I am her same person same skills but no as in I’m married now so I technically hyphenated my last name but I don’t ever go by that or Devine anymore… Also I would like to clarify that I no longer teach at Harvard I accepted an attending position here.”

“Are you the new head of trauma?” A red haired woman spun around.

“Yes ma’am.” You gave a small grimace and smile.

“No that’s a good thing, April Kepner I’m actually one of your residents.” She reached her hand out and you shook it.

“Good to know.” Just then Miranda Bailey stepped into the room and all the interns shot back forward.

“Ahh Miranda Bailey, she’s still got it.” You laughed.

“Y/N Devine-Torres, does your wife know you’re up here?”

“I don’t believe so, looks like she’s tapping out though so better go find her before someone else does…”

“go getcha girl, good to have you back.” She laughed as you left. All the interns shocked at the fact that your “wife” was none other than Dr. Calliope Torres.

you ran down to the locker room where you figured she would be changing. You knocked on the heavy wooden door, “knock knock anyone home?” You asked playfully slipping in. You found her pulling her shirt over her head next to her locker, which held a couple pictures of you and her, Sofia, the three of you along with her stethoscope and a few other necessities. She turned to you and made a sad face letting out a whine and letting her shoulders drop.

“I’m so so sorry that I couldn’t be home…”

“I know baby I know.” You said pulling her into an embrace placing kisses on her lips.

“rough night?” You whispered in between kisses.

“you wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”

“Mmm so don’t tell me just let me take you home, relieve some of that stress… that tension.” You said running expert hands over her strong arms and shoulders.

She bit her lip, her eyes darkening by watching yours, “whatever you say… Y/N Devine” she said all airy and mocking the girls earlier.

“that is Dr. Torres to you.” You said placing a bruising kiss on her lips.

the car ride home was quiet, you could feel the gentle anticipation coming in waves. You parked and walked up to your shared house gently leading her through the door. Setting all your bags down keeping an eye as she went into the kitchen, you walked up behind her hands massaging the muscles ghosting kisses on the back of her neck as she leaned her head back into you. You grabbed her hand and guided her upstairs to your bedroom, grabbing her shirt and pulling her close, starting to strip her clothes pulling her closer and closer until she was completely bare, letting your hands grasp at her curves and muscles quick breathes and smirks shared in between heated kisses, you ran skilled fingers all over her body before pushing her back her knees meeting the bed.

“looks like someone couldn’t wait for me to get home.” You said slyly.

“your my wife of course I can’t wait for you to get home… she said suggestively, as she scooted back the bed, you were on all fours over her heated kisses being trailed across her body. For awhile you made out letting your hands roam the heat intensifying as you kissed every part of her body.

“Y/N, mi amor.” She whined as you nipped at her neck then replacing the bite with a kiss.

“yes my love?” You asked moving down to her chest nipping the soft skin and then placing kisses, leaving a kiss right in between her breast while looking up to make eye contact.

“I need you…” you worked your way back up to her mouth, your hand sneakily going between her legs, fingers ghosting her inner thigh.

“mm, what do you need love?”

“Uh…” she inhaled sharply with a whine, “you I need you.” She exhaled into your kiss, your fingers sliding through as you felt how wet she was.

“what she wants she gets…” you left one more bruising kiss before sliding down in between her legs, you didn’t waste much time and it wasn’t long before her moans filled the room. Your hand pumping as your mouth worked wonders, before you knew it she had hit her high. As you placed kisses up and down her legs she sat up pulling you into her lap, you wrapped your bare legs around her and she could feel how wet you were, how much you ached.

“You know I always knew you had that last name for a reason… Dr.Devine.”

“mmhm, too bad I changed it.”

“must’ve been a special one.”

“yeah, more than special, she’s pretty amazing, the ONE, the only one.”

She chuckled, “well then… my turn, show you how amazing I am…” she said teasing you her hand sliding in to give you more teasing action. She turned and laid you on the bed your legs still wrapped around her waist, you unhooked them, still holding with your knees as she got up.

she walked over to the closet and was digging until she pulled out the strap, you but your lip as she walked back over to you, she sat next to you pulling you back into her lap, one hand was on her face as you kissed her while the other held onto the top of the headboard.

at first she moved slowly grinding into each other but before long she had you on your back legs over her shoulders as she railed you, loud moans filling the room, good thing your neighbors weren’t to close by.

“mi amor, absolutely beautiful, if only I could put a baby in you, see you glow as you carried our baby.” That sent you over the edge.

A little while later you found yourselves wrapped in each others arms legs tangled, the bed in disarray, you laid your head on her chest as she held you.

You were being quiet, Callie reached over brushing some curls out of your face, “Y/N what’s on your mind?”

“Hmm..” you pulled out of your daze.

“where did you go?”

“no where.”

“you’re being quiet… what’s wrong?”

“nothings wrong, just thinking.”

“About what baby?”

“Well,” you said sitting up next to her, she looked up at you until she saw how nervous you were, scooting up to prop on the headboard next to you.

“baby what’s wrong?” She said getting more concerned, she ran a gentle hand over your leg as you faced her.

“were you serious?”

“about?”

“the baby, me being pregnant?… with our baby.” You looked into her deep eyes.

“I…uh… to far? I’m sorry if…”

“no, no, I want a baby.”

“really?”

“I mean yea, I know with Sofia and all and Arizona and the whole situation that it’s not easy, but I want a baby I want little mini us’s running around.”

“Y/N is that what you were so nervous about?”

“yea i thought maybe you were just saying it but then i got thinking and…”

“baby,” she said cutting you off, “I would love to have a baby with you, I was serious. You would look gorgeous carrying our baby and I wouldn’t want to do it with anyone else, you’re more than just my wife, my best friend, love of my life… and besides Sofia would love having a sibling.” She said leaning up to kiss you.

“so you wanna have a baby?” You chuckled into her kiss.

“yes love I wanna have a baby.” She said placing rapid kisses on your lips and pulling you into an embrace as you both giggled.

[charincharge]

I Don't Want To Wait, sixty-seven

rowaelin high school bff au masterlist

AN: WHOOPS, I disappeared for two years. (Legit the last chapter was posted in May 2022!). But I’m back and have written… a lot of the rest of this fic, so we’re just going to post weekly (or even twice weekly!) until we’re finished. And I hope you’re still out there, anyone, to enjoy it. Quick recap for a previously on IDWTW. Aelin and Rowan had sex! It was great. Then they walked in on Rhoe and her dance teacher Petrah having sex, which was NOT great. Aelin never wants to go back to dance again. We returned to school. Senior second semester is going great. Busy for Aelin, who is still trying to work her butt off re: APs and grades. Less busy for Rowan, who is already recruited to college for lacrosse. Aelin and Lys had a huge falling out, but have slowly rekindled their friendship now that Lys is sober and working on her shit. Elide and Manon came out! They’re running as homecoming queens! Dorian and Chaol haven’t DTRed and are taking a break. Last we left off, Aelin texted someone to help retrieve her lacrosse hoodie from the dance studio after hours. But who? Keep reading to find out. Also, I have been gone for so long that I have NO idea who is still in the fandom or reading Rowaelin fic. Please reblog to spread the word! Taglist doesn't seem to possible anymore, so please share! Love you all and missed you all. Comment, message, meme, gif, whatever. Let’s go, team.

Aelin watched with wide eyes as Lys lowered into a crouch and removed a bobby pin from her hair. When she’d texted her friend to help with her mission, she hadn’t realized that Lysandra was a bona-fide expert at breaking and entering. 

“It got boring in rehab,” Lys said with a small shrug, as if that explained her masterful lock-picking.

“Good to know,” Aelin said, chewing her thumb nervous and glancing over her shoulder at Rowan, who waited patiently in the jeep — aka, their getaway car. She didn’t think they’d actually need one, but this whole thing was such a thing, she figured it was probably safest to have a getaway car. What if the cops were called about the break-in, and they had to run? 

Aelin almost chuckled at the thought of Orynth’s elderly Police Chief trying to run after them, but it hadn’t stopped her from telling Lys to dress all in black and meet them at the dance studio at eight. Luckily, Rhoe was at the station overnight, so he couldn’t see their ridiculous antics. But, after all, this mission was serious. She tried to refocus on Lys, who was finagling with a pin in the lock, taking her sweet time. A rush of panic ran through Aelin. What if they got caught? What if this got put on her permanent record? What if they got arrested?

BZZZZ. Aelin’s phone vibrated in her hand, making her jump with surprise. 

“Gods,” she muttered under her breath, causing Lys to chuckle under her breath.

“Tell your buzzard not to worry, we’re almost there,” she said, twisting the pin again in a different direction. Aelin sighed at the reassurance. She knew that Rowan had to be feeling her nerves as well. Although maybe not quite as much. She wasn’t usually concerned about being a rule follower, but every step of the way had made her feel more and more stressed out. Which might have to do more with her overbearing boyfriend watching their every move than anything else. Couldn’t he just sit there and look cute and not worry? She looked at his text and shook her head. She should have known it’d be impossible. He was the biggest worry wart of them all.

Are you sure no one’s in the studio? It looks like the lights are on upstairs. Rowan texted from the front seat, his view of the studio probably better than theirs. But Aelin had spent too many years of her life at this studio. Despite her churning stomach, she knew they were fine.

Last class ended an hour ago. They always leave the lights on for the cleaning staff, but they get Fridays off, so they’re on until Saturday morning. It was part of my class schedule to turn the lights off. We’re good.

She looked over her shoulder after sending the text, and watched as Rowan threw a thumbs up in her direction. She couldn’t help but laugh at how silly he looked in his oversized black hoodie with the hood up. Despite completely disapproving of her decision, he showed up ready for the assignment at hand. 

“Tadaaa,” Lys sang out quietly as the lock clicked open, the door popping ajar. 

“Honestly, when I asked you to help me break into the dance studio, I figured we’d be throwing a rock into a window or something,” Aelin whispered, even though there was absolutely no reason to whisper at all. Aelin had timed it purposefully, so she wouldn’t have to run into … anyone. Okay, she really didn’t want to have to talk to Petrah. She’d avoided the studio (and Petrah) for so many weeks following the revelation that she’d been involved with her dad, and she had no intention of breaking that now. So, they’d had no choice but to break into the studio under the cover of darkness.

“Don’t thank me yet,” Lys said. “The door upstairs has a lock, too, right?” 

Aelin nodded. Annoyingly, there were three doors they had to break open — the building door, the door to the second floor, and then the dance studio entrance. Thank god Aelin had her locker key, so that wasn’t a worry.

“So, why are we doing this again?” Lys asked as they trudged up the long stairwell to the second floor. She tried not to flinch as the rubber-covered stairs squeaked beneath her shoes. “Not that I’m not happy to help,” she continued. “I just thought that you started dancing again and loved it?”

“Ugh,” Aelin groaned. “I did.” Aelin paused for a beat too long, causing Lys to flip her dark curls over her shoulder to get a better look at Aelin. 

“But?”

“It’s…complicated,” Aelin sighed as Lys crouched down in front of the second floor door.

“Well, this is going to take a minute,” Lys laughed. “Tell me.” Aelin was going to refute again when Lys’s voice changed, softer. “Unless you don’t want to…”

Aelin nearly smacked herself. She’d thought this would be a ridiculous, fun (and pretty low-stakes) way to hang out with Lys again, and here she was totally ruining it by keeping things to herself again.

“No, it’s not like that,” Aelin reassured her as she continued to work on the lock. “It’s just… horrifying.”

“Well now you can’t not tell me,” Lys snickered, but Aelin recognized the slight trepidation in her friend’s green eyes. Still nervous to push things. Aelin bit the bullet and let it out in a whoosh.

“Oh my GOD.” Lys’s nose crinkled, and she fell to her knees completely as her shoulders shook with laughter as Aelin told her story. “I mean, we all knew Rhoe fucked,” Lys cackled, causing Aelin to smack her friend’s knee. 

“EW! That is my dad,” she said, fake heaving.

“He’s a hot, hot firefighter daddy, though,” Lys said, her eyebrows wiggling.

“I swear to god I will vomit straight on you.”

Aelin tried to be serious, but Lysandra’s smile pushed them both over the edge into a fit of giggles. They laughed and laughed, releasing the tension that had been hovering around them like a thick blanket all night, officially removing all traces of formality. Unable to help herself, Aelin reached out for her friend’s hand, squeezing her fingers gently and was relieved as Lys squeezed back. They weren’t healed, per se, but they were healing, and that was the most that Aelin could really ask for right now.

Taking a breath and wiping the remnant tracks of tears from her cheeks, Lys pushed herself back up to her knees. “Second lock?”

“Speaking of my family…” Aelin started nervously, but forged on, curious. “How’s Aedion doing?” 

To her credit, Lys didn’t even lose pace as she unlocked the next door with ease.

“I know you want me to reply with something equally scandalous, but there’s nothing going on between me and Aedion,” Lys replied succinctly. “We’re friends.”

“Okay,” Aelin said, not completely convinced, but chose to respect her boundaries and believe her words. 

The pair fell into an awkward silence as they headed down the hall toward the studio door. Just one last lock to get through — and then she’d never have to return to this place. A part of her heart panged at that thought, that she’d be leaving Orynth and this studio behind and not really getting to say goodbye to it. But running into Petrah was NOT an option.

“Hey, isn’t this the studio?” Lys asked of a propped open door, a gentle music wafting from inside. Aelin’s stomach sank. Had someone stayed late tonight practicing? It was a plus that they wouldn’t have to break into yet another door, but she really didn’t want to risk running into anyone. “I thought you said it was closed.”

At the same time, the pair noticed the schedule on the door, showing the company’s new rehearsal schedule. Their rehearsals now went until nine on Friday night, meaning that Aelin had shown up in the middle of a packed studio, instead of an empty one. And one where Petrah would surely be. She contemplated turning right around, but Lys had already opened the door too far, leading them into the studio lobby where the company was on break, milling around and refilling their water bottles.

And at the front desk, Petrah’s eyes widened with surprise upon seeing her. “Aelin!”

She should have guessed breaking in had been too easy. Had the doors even been locked? She knew Lysandra had gotten through them too quickly! Grumbling, she stepped out of the shadow and into the lobby toward Petrah. She couldn’t run away anymore, so she had no choice but to say hello to the woman who she’d been studiously avoiding for weeks. And by the look on Petrah’s face, she knew it, too.

“I’ll go grab your jersey,” Lys whispered, leaving her to fend for herself. “See you downstairs!”

“Traitor,” Aelin mumbled under her breath as Lysandra all but ran into the locker room, excusing herself from the awkward conversation that surely lay ahead. She wanted to run, but her feet were stuck, watching Petrah approach nervously.

“Aelin,” she said again, taking a deep breath. “I’ve been wanting to talk to you….” But Aelin cut her off.

“I don’t want to talk about it!” she said, ready to slap her hands over her ears, lest Petrah talk about her dad in any less than completely formal way.

Petrah’s deep pink lips curled up on one side in amusement, but Aelin watched as she took another deep breath and shook off whatever she’d been about to say. Instead, she watched as her smile fell into a wistful expression. “We’ve missed seeing you around here,” Petrah said.

Aelin’s eyes shot to the open doorway of the studio where the company practiced, all jetes and pirouettes and well-supported port de bras. She had missed dancing. She really had just gotten back into it when she let it fall away. Petrah must have seen her expression because she smiled faintly and let her delicate hand fall to Aelin’s shoulder.

“You could join the class. Dance it out,” Petrah suggested.

Aelin couldn’t tear her eyes away from the dancers. She watched the emotion pour from them. That is what she needed. But as Lysandra held up her jersey and trailed down the stairs in the periphery of her vision, Aelin shook her head.

“I can’t tonight.”

“I understand that it might be strange to spend time with me after what you overheard…” Petrah trailed off as blood pooled in her cheeks, filling her usual pale complexion with a deep blush. “It was completely casual. It’s only happened a handful of times, and we both know it’s not serious. I’m not trying to replace your mother, or anything like that, it’s just… an occasional stress release, and oh my god, I am sorry I didn’t mean to say any of that.” Aelin cringed at the words. She wanted to stop Petrah, but the woman couldn’t be stopped even if she wanted to. “Please don’t give up dance because of this,” Petrah pleaded. “You have such a gift, Aelin, and I would be filled with regret for the rest of my life if I knew I was the cause of you walking away from it.”

Aelin took a breath, the comforting scent of chalk and worn leather infiltrating her senses and calming her down as she figured out what to reply to Petrah. Of course she wanted to dance still. It was undeniable, the way her body pulled her toward the studio, the way a sense of calm settled through her despite her initial discomfort upon seeing Petrah. She thought about her lack of free time and her constantly building stress as the semester went on and how badly she wished she could just dance it out. That release of emotion centered her, and she knew that she was feeling off kilter without it. Making time for dance had improved her life drastically — it'd kept her sane as the rest of her semester spiraled out of control — and she wanted it back. So, so badly.

She was on the verge of agreeing to join the practice when there was a crash and loud shriek from the studio. When the shriek morphed into a choked sob, a churning nausea overwhelmed Aelin. She watched as Petrah’s face morphed into one of horror as she sprinted into the studio. Sure enough, one of the dancers was on the floor, cradling her ankle, cheeks red and involuntary tears dripping down her skin, while another dancer attempted to help her stand. The girl hissed, crying out in pain and sat down again.

“Call an ambulance,” someone ordered, and suddenly there was a frenzy, a rush of dancers looking on in terror at the injury in front of them. Aelin stood with her back against the wall, not wanting to be in the way, slinking out of sight while so much was going on. It felt like a sign from the universe that Aelin shouldn’t even think about wasting her time with dancing. Like the gods warned her that she had way too much going on to even consider it.

With Petrah distracted, Aelin slipped out, trying to gain control of her waging feelings. She slid into the backseat next to Lys, her mind reeling and unable to get the image of the crying dancer out of her head. So caught up in her own thoughts, she didn’t even hear Rowan call out to her, until red and blue flashed behind them. He swung his head over her shoulder, his mouth agape in horror as he stared at his unusually quiet girlfriend.

“Ace, what did you do? Are those the cops?!”

Aelin shook her head, the horrible feeling of nausea persisting in her gut as Rowan drove away from the studio.

. . .

It had been days since Aelin had received a text from an unknown number, and she still hadn’t decided what she was going to do.

I thought you should know we’re holding an emergency dance company audition this Tuesday at 5pm. Please come, Aelin.

Aelin chewed her sandwich thoughtfully as she pulled up the text again. The audition was merely hours away, but she was still on the fence.

“You still haven’t made up your mind?” Lysandra asked, glancing at Aelin’s phone screen. Her former — maybe current — friend had started joining them at the lunch table in the last few days since their late night break in, continuing to heal and thaw what had broken between them.

“I keep telling her to pro con list,” Rowan said, letting his fingers trail across the back of her neck and kneading the tight muscles there with his strong grasp.

“Mmmm,” Aelin mumbled, leaning further into his touch. “Con. Time spent without you.”

“Pro, something to do while I’m at lacrosse practice,” he countered as his fingers massaged a particularly tender part of her neck. She angled her head so he could have better access, but he took it as an invitation to let his head drop to her bare skin and press his lips against it, causing her body to light up. As she leaned toward him with another light moan, Dorian slammed his tray down on the table with a loud thwack.

“Get a room or get outta here,” he complained, tossing a fry at the still-intertwined pair.

“Someone’s got their panties in a bunch,” Aelin laughed as she tossed the fry back at the offender.

“My panties are perfectly smooth, thank you very much,” Dorian quipped. “Some of us would just prefer not to bear witness to your foreplay.”

“Pro,” Rowan whispered into Aelin’s ear, his lips ghosting against the tickling skin there. “I really love watching you dance.”

“Pro,” Aelin whispered back. “Increased stamina, muscle strength, and flexibility.”

Aelin glanced up at Rowan, who was already staring back at her with a fiery intensity. Her eyes glanced down at his mouth, which was curled into a satisfied smirk. His throat bobbed with a slow swallow, surely thinking of all the way those fitness benefits could be put to good use. She leaned in slightly, her lips a hairs breadth away from his when another fry hit her cheek. Aelin whipped her head around, rubbing at the salty spot where the food had made contact with her face.

Dorian was the picture of innocence, eyes wide as he chewed his own fry.

“Con,” Lys interjected. “Increased horniness.”

“Literally didn’t think that was possible,” Dorian said with a snort. “So, what are we pro-conning?” he asked, popping another fry into his mouth.

“Orynth Dance Company is having an emergency audition after an injury, and Aelin was personally invited to try out,” Lysandra explained.

“But I don’t really have the time,” Aelin started. “It would require actual rehearsal time. Like, a lot of nights. Not just an hour long class. Plus, I’d have to see Petrah every day. And I have to knock this last semester’s grades out of the park if I want to even think about getting a scholarship anywhere, plus I have a million AP exams to study for coming up, and that’s not even considering keeping up with hospital volunteering and going to your games and having any kind of semblance of a social life and…” she trailed off, her stomach finally settling as she came to the conclusion she knew she was going to come to all along. “I can’t join the dance company.”

Rowan frowned and reached for her hand. “Are you sure, Ace?” His hand wrapped around hers in a comforting squeeze, and she knew he was asking seriously. “We could make it work. I could help you study, we could bring out your color-coded schedule again to make sure we could fit everything in.”

“I know,” Aelin sighed, squeezing back. “But, I’m sure.”

But as the afternoon ticked by, Aelin couldn’t ignore the swirling feeling of guilt trying to pull her under. She was so distracted by the approaching time that she completely zoned out through all of AP Lit, startling when the period ended and Dorian poked her side.

And as five PM approached closer and closer, she found herself growing more agitated and even snapping at Rowan at one point. It wasn’t his fault; he had to head off to lacrosse practice, but Aelin had found herself so worked up that she had thought maybe he’d want to help release some tension.

“I’ll come right over after practice,” Rowan promised as he twined his hands around her waist.

“But you’ll be all sweaty and gross,” Aelin replied with a frown.

“I thought you liked when I get sweaty,” he laughed, nuzzling his nose into her hair. Aelin sighed, knowing she was being petulant, but she couldn’t get out of her own head.

“Only when I’m the one doing it!”

She tried to push him away, but Rowan’s grasp on her was iron-clad, too tight for her to even think about prying him off her. “Ace,” he lowered his voice. “I would love nothing more than to skip practice and be with you, but you know this is the only thing I need to do this semester to keep my place at Wendlyn.”

“Because Wendlyn’s more important than me?”

“I think you need a snack,” Rowan laughed, but Aelin didn’t find that funny at all.

“Sorry my blood sugar problems are amusing to you,” she said, stiffening within his grasp. She felt Rowan sigh deeply and watched as he pinched the bridge of his nose and scrunched his brows up the way she loved so much.

“I’m sorry,” he apologized. “You know that’s not—”

“I know,” Aelin replied quickly. “I’m sorry. I don’t know what’s gotten into me.”

Rowan raised a single brow as if to tell her he knew exactly what had gotten into her, and so did she.

“It’s not even four yet,” Rowan said. “You could still go.”

But Aelin was nothing if not resolute. She’d made up her mind, and it was completely logical. And she was sticking to it. No, she’d head home and, yes, get a snack, and dig into her lit homework. Maybe Dorian would be willing to give her his notes from the class, seeing as she couldn’t remember a single thing that was discussed earlier.

She forced a smile and shrugged her shoulders back. “Nope, you were right. I need a snack. I’ll head to Maeve’s and see what she’s got for me.”

Rowan grimaced. “She closed for the afternoon, actually, while they put in a new stove, but she should be reopened by the time I’m out of practice.” Aelin shivered as Rowan let his fingers trail in small circles up and down her back. “Why don’t I stop there on my way to your place after practice? Cheeseburger and brownies?”

“And then orgasms?” Aelin asked, causing a loud snort to erupt from Rowan.

“You want to have sex after cheeseburger and brownies? That feels dangerous.”

“Well, we could have sex first, but reheated cheeseburgers are pretty garbage,” Aelin replied, loving the soft smile that appeared on Rowan’s face. It was the one solely reserved for her. When she was being particularly ridiculous or annoying, it was like he couldn’t help but love her more, and the small curve of his lips let her know that.

“You’re right. Cheeseburgers first,” he paused. “Then sex, then brownies?”

“Deal,” Aelin said as she reached her hand out to shake his. But he instead grasped it in his and brought it to his mouth, kissing her knuckles lightly.

“I love you,” he said.

And though Aelin wanted to roll her eyes, she took a moment to relish the fact that her best friend in the whole world loved her. And would do anything to make her smile. In fact, he’d succeeded in getting her too distracted to think about the auditions and…

As soon as she thought about them, her smile faded again.

“Just go,” he whispered, but Aelin shook her head.

“Have a good practice. See you in a few hours.”

She kissed him and sent him off, hoping to pour herself into her studies. But even with her book open, Aelin digested none of what she was reading. She kept looking at the clock, distracted. Even as it passed five pm, knowing that she was missing the auditions, she still couldn’t focus. And her mood started to plummet.

It plummeted even further as she received a text from Rowan saying that their coach needed him to stay behind for a bit after practice and that he’d be later than anticipated.

She tried to read more, and when that didn’t work, she attempted to do some math equations, but she couldn’t get her brain to work. She knew what she needed. And it was to dance it out. Despite everything, that was still her best coping mechanism. When a second text from Rowan came in, apologizing for being even later, Aelin had had enough. She couldn’t just sit here and wallow. Instead, she wrote a note for whoever would get home first – her dad, Lorcan, or Rowan — and began walking.

She didn’t even know where she was walking until she ended up at the dance studio. It was unlocked, but empty. She couldn’t remember if there had been an end time to the auditions, but it seemed completely deserted. No one was sitting at the front desk, and the lights were eerily dim. This is what she’d expected to walk into last week when she’d stolen back her lacrosse hoodie, and she was even more annoyed about it somehow.

Instead of focusing on that, though, she went straight for the first open studio and turned the lights on. The fluorescent bulbs overhead flickered on, illuminating the wooden floors beneath with a warm yellow glow. She toed her sneakers off and padded barefoot to the corner of the studio where the massive (and ancient) stereo system was stored. She pulled her phone out and connected it, pulling up one of the old playlists Rowan had made for her and closed her eyes, letting the music wash over her. Her feet took off, working in sync with the rhythm reverberating through the bare floor. Next, her arms spread, stretching out and shaking off the stress of the last few weeks.

For the first time, she really let herself feel it. The worrying and wondering what the future would hold. She knew Rowan was destined for Wendlyn, but she had no idea what she would do if she didn’t get in, too. He’d assured her that they’d stay together and figure it out, but who really stays with their high school boyfriend? She knew they weren’t like everyone else – they were special – but it didn’t stop her from thinking about it and wondering. When it came down to it, that’s why she really couldn’t bring herself to audition today. She couldn’t risk spending less time with Rowan, not if this was the last few weeks of their relationship.

Whoa. Where did that thought come from?

She ignored the small tear that pooled in the corner of her eye, letting it drip down her cheek as she spun in time with the music. How could she doubt her and Rowan’s relationship after all this time? She knew in her soul that they were destined to be together. She couldn’t imagine a world where she didn’t wake up and see him every day. But there had been a small slice of fear since they first kissed, and it had ebbed and flowed with each passing day until it was now a gaping chasm in the pit of her stomach. The idea that she could end up elsewhere without Rowan was a real, actual problem. And the timeframe was closing in on them. What if this was the end of them? How would she ever recover?

Her hands reached overhead and then she let her body collapse to the floor in a graceful fall, letting go over the overwhelming sensations of fear that had been swirling and threatening to paralyze her. She arched her back and her neck released, the tension that Rowan had tried to knead attempting to relax and letting gravity pull her down, down, down.

It wasn’t that she didn’t trust Rowan. She did. More than anything. She just didn’t trust this world. She didn’t trust that everything would work out the way it was supposed to. I mean, just look at her dad. He’d thought he’d found the love of his life, and she walked away like it was nothing. Walked away from Aelin.

She didn’t want to cling to Rowan, to be the girl who changed her whole life just to be with a guy. She wasn’t that person. No. She was Aelin fucking Galathynius, and she could live life fully on her own. But she wanted to be with Rowan. Wanted the whole package. Saw their life together. And wanted more than anything for it to become a reality. But what if that future disappeared? What if it was cut short? What if they drifted apart. What if they tried to do long distance? Last summer while he was at camp was only two months and it was pure torture. It caused a rift so big between them that she wasn’t sure they’d overcome it. And yes, of course they did. But… to do it again? And for four years?

Her emotions threatened to choke her as she continued to dance out her frustrations, stomping and spinning and leaping, hoping against all hopes that the answers to her anxieties would appear if she could only dance long enough. She left every feeling, every worry, every gnawing anxiety on the dance floor, letting it tumble out through her moving limbs.

She didn’t know how long she’d been dancing when she opened her eyes again and refocused at herself in the mirror. She didn’t recognize the girl she saw there. She may not have come up with any answers, but she felt better. Raw, red eyed, red cheeked, and breathing hard, Aelin felt totally exposed. Which is why she nearly jumped out of her skin when a voice cut through the silence, over her harsh exhale.

“Practice starts next week.”

The director of the company stood in the darkened doorway of the studio, arms crossed and lips pursed in thoughtful approval.

“Oh, I wasn’t—”

“I know you weren’t,” she said with a formal smile. “But we’d still love to have you. If you want.”

It wasn’t necessarily the answer she had hoped to reach, but something about this moment felt like the universe trying to reassure her. That things do work out the way they’re supposed to.

“Yeah?” she asked, feeling somewhat hopeful.

“Yes.”

“Okay,” she said.

A wide smile crossed the director’s face. “Welcome to the Orynth Dance Company,” she congratulated her.

Aelin didn’t know what had overcome her, but she couldn’t help but run over to her and throw her sweaty arms around her neck in a giant hug.

“Thank you.”

Right on cue, Aelin’s phone buzzed with another incoming text.

Cheeseburgers en route. See you soon. Xx

. . .

As anticipated, the cheeseburgers were exactly what Aelin needed to rejuvenate herself, but Rowan was totally right that there was no way to be sexy after housing a half pound of meat and cheese.

“I’m so stuffed,” she said, patting her extremely full stomach.

Rowan snorted. “Why don’t we take a post-dinner break and watch something?”

“Only if it’s Housewives!” Lorcan shouted from the kitchen where he was cooking dinner for him and Rhoe, who were properly affronted that Rowan hadn’t brought them cheeseburgers, as well.

Aelin sighed and chuckled softly as she let herself slump over onto Rowan, who was already pulling up Housewives onto the television.

“You are such an enabler,” Aelin laughed.

“It’s easier than dealing with him being pouty,” Rowan smartly replied.

Aelin was about to agree when they were interrupted by an unusual ring tone.

“I’m sorry,” Rowan said, sitting up suddenly. “Is that your… home phone?”

Aelin genuinely couldn’t remember the last time that had rung. Usually she and her dad were both contacted on their cells. They really just had a home line because it was part of their internet package. She couldn’t even remember who had that number.

“Uh, phone’s for you Aelin?” Lorcan shouted from the kitchen.

Even weirder?

“Who the hell would be calling this late on a Tuesday?” Aelin whispered. Rowan’s brow lifted.

“Why don’t you go see?”

Curious, Aelin pried herself off the couch and headed to the kitchen where Lorcan was standing with a spatula in one hand and the phone in the other.

“Who is it?” she whispered.

Lorcan shrugged, simply shoving the phone forward. Helpful.

Aelin cradled the phone against her ear and took a deep breath. “Hello?”

“Hello!” A deep voice rang out over the phone. “Is this Miss Aelin Galathynius?”

“Um,” she cleared her throat. “Yes?”

“Excellent!” the voice boomed, causing her to pull the phone away from her ear slightly. “My name is Xavier Forul, and I’m a local alum of Wendlyn University. I’d love to have you in for an interview some time in the near future. Whenever you’re available! I know you’re a busy senior with a lot on her plate.”

Aelin’s heart took off, beating faster as his words unfolded.

“Interview?”

“Yes,” he continued. “It’s my favorite part of the process. As a former Wendlyn man myself, I get to sit down and speak with young promising applicants to see what their goals and ambitions might be and how they might become part of the Wendlyn world.”

Aelin glanced at the silver-headed mop peeking out above the couch and exhaled slowly. This was it. The universe reassuring her. She felt it with every fiber of her being. She could dance, she could nail her classes this semester, and she’d get into Wendlyn and be with Rowan.

“Wow, thank you so much for reaching out,” Aelin began, her autopilot pilot voice taking over. “I’d love to meet with you.”

As Xavier explained the details of the interview, Aelin’s hope buoyed. She’d been waiting for a sign from the universe, something to tell her that she and Rowan were going to work out and be fine. If a personalized phone call on a landline that hadn’t rung in more months than she could count, inviting her into the home of a University alum wasn’t a sign, she didn’t know what was. And Aelin began to hope for the first time that everything was going to actually work out.

~*~

[theriu]

What advice do you have for someone who wishes to (eventually, as soon as she has both the space and the money) have a cat, but who has never had a pet before?

Oh goodness, I don’t feel like an expert but I will do my best! Here’s a few tips I can think of from my own experiences:

1) Decide how okay you are with shedding. Of my two cats, the long-haired one obviously sheds a lot more noticeably, and it can be a bit aggravating to find clumps of fur all over the carpet. Hard floors can make this less of a nuisance since you can sweep it up easily, but if you have a lot of carpet, I’d suggest a short-hair cat unless you just SUPER LOVE long-hairs. Of course, my cats were both strays so those kinds of considerations didn’t really factor in. 😅

2. Determine if you want a cat that is indoor/outdoor or indoor only. Now, there is a lot of argument against letting cats run free outdoors, but I used to live out on a farm right next to a trailer park full of stray cats, so a few more (all fixed) weren’t going to make much difference to the local wildlife. Once I moved into town, though, I rehomed my one cat I knew would be miserable being indoor-only, and the other two have adapted pretty well to being indoor cats. (They do try and sneak out the door sometimes, though.) I did this mainly because risks like being hit by cars or being mistaken for a stray and adopted by some well-meaning person are much higher in town. They are still risks elsewhere, though, so keep a collar on your cat, and consider getting it microchipped. Also, know that you will probably need to get the cat some extra shots, for diseases they can only get outside. Also also, make sure you spay/neuter! (The kitten issue aside, female cats are so WEIRD when they are in heat!)

For indoor cats, my house has stairs the cats can run up and down and they seem to stay in good shape, but just make sure they have some kind of ability to exercise if they can’t run much. Stimulating things like feeder dishes that make the cat work for its food can help mentally and with keeping them from overeating. (I got this neat feeding bowl that is actually a holder of five cups of varying sizes that get filled with food, and the cats have to paw it out of the cups. It’s really helped with how fast they were eating.)

3. Cats have very different personalities, so I think it’s good to try and figure out what a cat is like before adopting it. I kept all my cats because they were really friendly compared to other cats I had known. Of course, there is the issue where my two current cats don’t always get along, but they at least don’t get into full-on brawls. But if you don’t have any other pets when you get the cat, this should be easier - you only have to get it used to you! Cats don’t always show friendlieness by cuddling; a lot of times, they just want to be in the room with you. But if you’re looking for a cuddler, see if you can find one that isn’t too afraid of people and will come right up for petting. When introducing it to your home, give it plenty of space and time to get used to its new surroundings and roommate.

4. Remembering to feed and water and change the cat litter can be hard, especially if you have ADHD. >.> My solution on the water front has been to fill a large decorative bowl in the living room and the cats just drink off that. XD For the food, Stormy will always remind me when she thinks the food is low (this is generally a false alarm the first couple times, the drama queen). Make sure you clean the litter box frequently, or the cats may find other, less agreeable locations to go. 8/ (Such as, oh I don’t know, INSIDE THE DRYER ON MY CLEAN LAUNDRY) If your cat does pee somewhere, you want to get those pet cleaner sprays because they break down the stinky enzymes that make cat pee smell so bad for so LONG.

5. As mentioned, some cats are cuddlier than others, but here’s a few general tips on cat behavior: a slow blink is how they show they trust you. A cat rolling onto its back is also showing trust that you WON’T touch its vulnerable belly (but some cats do actually learn to love tummy rubs; you kinda have to figure that one out on a cat-by-cat basis). They often like being petted on the area over the hindquarters near the base of the tail, but they also have a lot of nerves there and can get overstimulated, so if a cat goes from letting you pet it to trying to bite your hand, it is probably telling you that petting needs to stop NOW because its nerves are going CRAZY. This can also involve some trial and error; my former cat Clyde still sometimes knee-jerk reacts to being petted, but my sister says he has never done it to her, so we think she just pets less firmly than I do. Meanwhile, Shuri has NEVER reacted poorly to petting, and in fact would love nothing more than for me to spend an hour petting her so hard that she squishes into the mattress.

6. Don’t waste money on fancy cat toys unless you have some indication your cat likes that kind of toy. (This may be different if you raise them with the fancy toys from kittenhood; mine were both strays and are Very Suspicous of anything fancy I get them.) Laser pointers are an INSTANT FAVORITE and only cost a few dollars! And a dangly thing on a string can usually get them excited. Cats will often prefer a plain cardboard box over a fancy catbed, but they like pillows and piles of clothes and chairs and couches and people beds. And sometimes the round puzzle you put together on top of your hope chest, because Borders Are Safe Zones.

7. GET SCRATCHING POSTS OR THEY WILL MAKE THEIR OWN. (They will probably make their own anyway; my couch is regretably covered in claw marks. But the scratching posts at least help slow the deterioration.) Fun Fact: Cats don’t use scratching posts to “sharpen” their claws, but rather to rub off the outer layers on their claws. If you trim your cat’s claws yourself, you may notice how the claws kind of flake off when clipped. Be very careful not to cut into the quick (the blood vessel) when trimming! If your cat strongly opposes this process, the vet can do it for you for a small fee, but I generally just wrap mine up in a towel and make them suffer the indignity. It’s cheaper for me and less stressful for them than a long car trip and a visit to the strange vet’s office would be. (And they always forgive me pretty immediately after I release them. I cannot speak for cats that may hold grudges.)

I’m sure I haven’t covered even a tenth of the useful info, but I hope these are helpful and that you find just the right cat buddy in the future! 😄

[rowretro]

✧𝐁𝐋𝐎𝐎𝐃𝐘 𝐒𝐖𝐄𝐄𝐓✧

WARNINGS: 

✧tag list✧:@chlorinecake @nikisdubblchococake @enhypensccstarlight @strwberrydinosaur @sunghoonsbeautymark @strawbsj  @who-tf-is-sodhi @addictedtohobi (pls tell me if i'm missing any tags)

✧CHAPTER 19✧

5 years have passed and those 5 years have been filled with more fights and drug cartels trying to attack the Nishimura family.  Riki was trying to let go of the drug business, with his hands stained with so much blood and his family constantly being under attack. However, once you pick up a gun there’s no letting go of it. Kyle was now 10, still somewhat unaware of the drug business. Now he is 10, he does understand what’s good and bad, Which just makes Yeonjun’s job much easier.

“Well aren’t you a little cutie~” y/n cooed as Kyle sighed “Mom I’m not cute anymore- I’m literally the coolest kid in my school- stop emba-” he cut himself when he saw y/n go to Yeseol who was playing with her toys “what is my little expert doing today?” y/n asked as the girl smiled up at her “I’m making pasghetti!” She squealed, as Kyle frowned. “Awww pasghettti- you’re so cute~” Y/n cooed, cradling the 5 year old as she kisses her forehead. “Kyle, I packed your bag for football sweetie, daddy will drop you off kay?” the girl adds before heading to the kitchen.

Kyle walks over to Yeseol, his arms crossed as he stared down at her. “Want sum pasghetti?” the girl asked as the boy frowned “We all know you can say it! Even I could when I was 5” Kyle said as Yeseol pouted. “Kyle are you ready to go?” Riki asked as he grabs his keys. “Yeah- I’ll be in the car-” He said before running to the front seat. “Daddy!” Yeseol squealed, making grabby hands at Riki, smiling, he picked her up and twirled the little girl around. “Daddy will be back soon sweetie, go play with mommy for now~” Riki said, before placing a soft kiss on the little girl’s forehead.

“Mommy…. Happy buwfday!” the 5 year old said as she gave y/n a cute little drawing of the 4 of them, in pink, smiling, she picked up the girl, kissing her cheek, she sat on the sofa with Yeseol in her lap. “You drew this on yourself? No wayyy…. Daddy helped you didn’t he?” she playfully narrowed her eyes as the 5 year old started whining. “No no sweetie I’m joking, it’s just so beautiful~” she complimented, hugging her softly. 

Meanwhile, Riki was driving Kyle to football. “Kyle, score some goals and come home a proud footballer, and don’t forget, have fun. It’s not all about winning” he pointed out as the boy shrugged “But you do know I will end up winning anyway right?” the boy asked as Riki snickered. Just as Riki was going to go in for a hug, Kyle held his hand up.

“We don’t hug we high five or fist bump.” He said as Riki rolled his eyes playfully. “Also please don’t tell mom about the lost sweater… she thinks it was stolen, and my pencil case, and my old glasses, and my-” “Kyle it’s ok- I won’t snitch on you for losing those things, as long as you back me up about that lost shirt, She got it for me on valentines day…” Riki trailed off as Kyle nodded, heading off to the pitch.

Riki bid him goodbye before driving home, the scene he was met with was already horrifying as is, smashed, gunshot windows. He didn’t bother parking in the garage, he left his vehicle and ran inside the building, feather stuffing from the pillows, smashed furniture, and trickles of blood. “y/n, Yeseol?! Please tell me you’re ok-” he called out, with hopes that none of them were hurt. To his luck he found them, in a corner, Yeseol safely hidden in y/n’s arms.

“Are they gone?” Y/n asked as Riki nodded, bending down to their level. God it was heartbreaking to see his 5 year old covering her ears, as she snuggled into y/n, the little girl probably confused about what was happening. Crying, she walked over to Riki, hugging him, the male carried her, gently rocking her and reassuring that everything was ok while Y/n just glared at him. She helped the maids around a little with the cleaning, as the windows get replaced by bulletproof ones, more than just one window on each windowspace.

Riki walked into the living room that evening, a first aid kit in his hand as he approached y/n. She had been ignoring him since the incident, her heart still pounding every time she thinks about Yeseol, or what could’ve happened if it wasn’t for her fast actions. “Show me.” he simply said as he opened the box, the girl frowned “What is there to show? I'm perfectly fine, no thanks to you.” She said as Riki sighed. “Honey, running your wounds under cold water won’t solve it. Just show me them please…” he asked as the girl did so.

There were no major wounds, just a few pretty deep cuts, a big one across her palm. Every little cut and drip of blood was a reminder that Riki was a danger to the woman he loves, and the kids he holds dearly to his heart. It fucking hurt his heart as he hear her soft hisses and whimpers from pain. Why was he like this? Why can’t he just stop? Wasn’t Kyle holding onto his dear life as a baby enough of a reminder. Running away from his gang life clearly put him in more danger, but embracing this life still puts his family in danger.

“I know you’re mad at me… but… I’m sorry, also Yeseol is in the garden” he said nonchalantly as y/n glared at him “YOU LET OUR 5 YEAR OLD IN THE GARDEN IN THIS DARK???” She asked, maddened, before running to open the door, as she did so, she froze in her step.

“Happy Birthday babe~” Riki said with a mischievous smile as he back-hugged her. Both kids were there with Heeseung, the boys, Riki’s parents. A beautiful birthday cake, and the most ethereal view she had ever seen, her eyes on the beautiful pink lanterns flying up, along with balloons. “God I hate that I can’t stay mad at you” she pouted as Riki kissed her nose.

✧𝐁𝐋𝐎𝐎𝐃𝐘 𝐒𝐖𝐄𝐄𝐓✧

[is-on-its-way]

In the name of the Father, the Skeptic and the Son

Episodes: One Son/ Two Fathers

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Epilogue

·˚ ༘ ༊*·˚·˚ ༘ ☾ ⋆*･ﾟ:⋆*･ﾟﾟ･༘ ☾･ﾟ⋆･ﾟ:⋆·˚ ༘ ˚·˚·༊ ༘ ˚·⋆:ﾟ･⋆ﾟ･*☾ ༘⋆:ﾟ･⋆ ☾ ༘ ˚·˚·*༊ ༘ ˚·

Chapter 4:  I don't wanna be a bandage if the wound is not mine

She had been fighting every impulse to start jogging down the street and away from him since he’d sat down next to her in skinners office.

·˚ ༘ ༊*·˚·˚ ༘ ☾ ⋆*･ﾟ:⋆*･ﾟﾟ･༘ ☾･ﾟ⋆･ﾟ:⋆·˚ ༘ ˚·˚·༊ ༘ ˚·⋆:ﾟ･⋆ﾟ･*☾ ༘⋆:ﾟ･⋆ ☾ ༘ ˚·˚·*༊ ༘ ˚·

She shouldn’t have said what she’d said. She shouldn't have said a lot of things, but the thoughts had erupted out of her as if keeping them hidden wasn’t an option. She’d felt a dire need for Mulder to understand, because he obviously didn’t. She wanted desperately for him to get it; to get her, the way he had seemed to so effortlessly before Diana. No. If she was honest, it was Antarctica that had done it, it was telling him she was giving up on him and crossing the threshold of something that had threatened between them for years in his hallway, only to be interrupted by the reminder of this path they were on together. Diana had just been a catalyst for her fears to manifest themselves.

She’d spent the last four days deep cleaning her apartment and going on jogs for the first time in her life trying unsuccessfully to calm her mind. She’d been unable to sit still since she’d told Mulder working with him was personal for her. The end result was the same though, chaos in her mind. Only, her entire body was now sore.

They had sent in their report detailing what had happened in the hangar and the events leading up to it. Mulder had emailed her his summary and she’d filled in the parts that were missing from her account before sending it back. He let her know when he’d sent it to Kersh, and after that he’d left her alone like she’d requested. 

And now she had been so needlessly mean. So insane it was a wonder Mulder had agreed to get in the car with her at all. She felt shame cooling her skin and making her shiver. She was an expert at running away, had never been one to bare her soul to anyone, never one to open up. Or ask for what she wanted in a relationship.  She was terrible at it.

It was always the man who would chase after her, would profess his undying love, who would revere her as if she were a marble statue in the Louvre. And like a statue she’d never had to work for it. She had liked it that way. It felt safe and easy. But it was also hollow and empty she’d come to realize. Five and a half years with someone, who she knew saw her in a way no man had before had altered her expectations for what partnership could be. 

She felt turned upside down with Mulder. They had had a relationship up until now based in a mutual respect and admiration of each other that eclipsed every relationship she’d had. He wasn’t one to act upon a desire or chase her, not in the way she was used to. He’d give small hints. He’d give big hints sometimes. But he never chased her, as if she were some prize to be won. Instead he had a quiet steady way of respecting and valuing her and her opinion. It was terrifying. It was exhilarating. She couldn't live without it. 

It felt like the bottom had dropped out of her world then, when he had so hostilely rejected What she knew was right. Information directly tying Diana to the people who had hurt so many women, and had left her one of the last still standing, bruised and broken.

She looked out the passenger seat window, elbow resting on the sill, hand propping up her cheek. A couple crossed the street hand in hand. They were older, the woman had long grey hair flowing down her back and was smiling at him. The man was well lined and well dressed and speaking to her as if she were the only thing in the universe. Scully’s eyes followed them as they crossed and she teared up with nostalgia for a life she’d never lived. 

For a life she thought she’d have when she was in elementary school. A husband, children, a nice house, maybe a dog. Everything would be easy. Her husband would look at her like that man was looking at that woman. Sometimes she caught Mulder looking at her like that, when she walked into a room, or when she came up with a theory that closely matched his own or when she ate especially messily, sometimes even when she disagreed with him on a case. 

She turned her head so he wouldn’t see the tears welling in her eyes.

·˚ ༘ ༊*·˚·˚ ༘ ☾ ⋆*･ﾟ:⋆*･ﾟﾟ･༘ ☾･ﾟ⋆･ﾟ:⋆·˚ ༘ ˚·˚·༊ ༘ ˚·⋆:ﾟ･⋆ﾟ･*☾ ༘⋆:ﾟ･⋆ ☾ ༘ ˚·˚·*༊ ༘ ˚·

They parked in the parking lot and made their way into the austere art deco building. The facade looked like a skyscraper knocked on its side. They showed their badges at the front desk and were directed to a bank of elevators which they rode to the fifth floor. They made their way to number 556 and knocked. 

The door swung open and a pretty woman with wild, curly, dirty blonde hair opened it. She was dressed in jeans and a baggy t-shirt with Birkenstock sandals and wooly socks. She was a bit taller than Scully, curvy and exuded an air of easy composure. She would’ve looked more suitable, standing on a bluff, surfboard under her arm.

“Hey you guys!” She said “Come in” she motioned them inside with an airy wave of her hand. “Apologies for my outfit, we were called in last minute to get you both up to speed.” 

“No problem” Scully said motioning to her outfit as well and the two women smiled at each other. Im agent Dana Scully, this is…”

“Agent Fox Mulder, yeah I know” she smiled at them both. “Its really nice to meet you both, we’ve heard so much.” She leaned in to shake their hands, one hand kept in her back pocket. “Agent Stella Grey” 

Scully smiled at her. On any other day she might’ve found this agents knowledge of Mulder’s name perturbing but she had been fighting every impulse to start jogging down the street and away from him since he’d sat down next to her in skinners office.

Agent Grey led them into the vast warehouse space. Yellowing wide plank wood floors creaked underneath them. Light was streaming in through the wall of giant glass windows, illuminating a fog of dust swirling through the air. There were rows of storage and racks full of clothing in plastic dry cleaner bags. Old wooden tables lined the other wall. It looked as if the space had been built in 1940 and never updated except for the clothing and people inside it. 

Savage Garden played softly from a radio on one of the tables. A man stood over it looking down at paperwork. He was relatively tall, Mulder had a few inches on him but the man wasn't as lanky. He had curly black hair cut close to his head, and his well muscled torso was apparent through his long sleeve shirt. He looked up as they approached. 

“Hi, you must be agents Scully and Mulder” He shook their hands. “Agent Emmanuel Ramirez. We’re glad to have you guys on our case, you’ll probably have more answers for us than Agents Spender or Fowley were willing to provide.” He spoke with a slight New York lilt.

Mulder cocked his head to the side and Scully raised her eyebrows. 

The other agents shared a glance.

“You’ll have to excuse our confusion, people usually tend to regard us with a certain…”

“Distain” Scully finished for Mulder and he glanced at her, nodding.

“Well, we’ve seen some things in New York that would probably leave you with a few questions and concerns.” Agent Grey said airily.

Mulder smirked. “ I believe it.”

“Well theres usually explanations for things that seem unexplainable at first.” Scully said shifting uncomfortably feeling like they might be the butt of the joke in a moment.

“And you report these things in writing to your superiors?” Mulder asked. Intrigued by these agents, but openly skeptical.

“Right. The thing is, while we have seen some things, we aren’t really interested in rocking the boat. Just trying to do our jobs and keep the evil out of society, however it may… present itself.” Agent Ramirez said sharing a glance with his partner. 

“Right” Mulder said tightly. 

“So, be selective with the information we put in our reports?” Scully asked.

“Well we try to be diplomatic about what we share with the higher ups. We like to stay employed, you know how it is…” Grey said. 

They both grimaced, answering “Yeah” 

Agent Grey said “That doesn’t mean we aren’t very excited to get the infamous Mulder and Scully on our case. Agents Spender and Fowley just weren’t prepared for what this is, Spender especially seemed to think we were pulling his leg.”

Agent Ramirez added “You two have the know how we need so you aren’t out there taking unnecessary risks.” 

“We’ll be going to New York?” Scully asked.

“No luckily for you we’ll be at the St Regis here in DC” Agent Ramirez said.

“The group we’re investigating is coming for a… meeting, if you will, with a group here in DC” Agent Grey added. 

“Don’t tell me its the mob.” Mulder said exasperated. 

“Right in one” Ramirez said touching his nose. 

Mulder scoffed. “What could possibly be so unexplainable about a bunch of trigger happy Italian cheats?”

Ramirez motioned to the table and everyone sat. 

We’ve been investigating a series of deaths. They’re… especially heinous. 

Agent Grey handed out folders with autopsy reports and photos. They opened them on the table to share and were hit with gruesome crime scene photos. Eyes cut out, bodies in parts, eviscerations. 

Mulder leaned back in his chair and pushed the evisceration photos away. Scully rifled through the rest of the similarly violent reports, mildly interested. 

“The victims are all people who had associations with a particular guy. Sonny Cusano.” He handed Mulder his file. “All of them crossed him or got on his bad side in some way.”

“So how does this tie into the x files?” Mulder asked.

“Well… Cusano’s dead.” 

Agent Ramirez fished around on the table looking for something. Agent Grey handed him a medical file and he said “Gracia loca” in a way that said ‘loca’ was his pet name for her, before continuing.

He died of a…” he glanced at the page she’d handed him “ruptured aortic aneurysm in June. The murders only started in July.”

“So someone close to him has been carrying out revenge for him. Not uncommon in that world” Scully said looking up.

“Thats the thing. Everyone is scared. One guy even called us and requested protection. The people we have on record swear up and down no one has been tasked to carry out any orders. And some of these guys are high up.”

Mulder scoffed “The mob isn’t what it used to be, huh. What happened to honour among thieves? They’re not supposed to be talking to the feds.”

Agent Grey cracked a smile. “Actually theres a long history of mob, US government cooperation. Especially during WWII.”

Mulder gave a non committal grunt. This wasn’t his wheelhouse. “So he faked his death.”

“We thought of that too but uh, we exhumed the body to make sure. Or should I say the coffin. There was no body, but there was decay… the M.E. called it putrefaction.” Agent Ramirez said.

Scully furrowed her brow.

One victim was found still breathing, Anthony Mesano,” Agent Grey pointed to a folder that lay open. “His last words were apparently, ‘It was Cusano.’”

Mulder sat up, interested now. 

Scully said “No bones were found in the coffin?”

“No nothing. Except staining on the inside matching Cusano’s DNA.”

Scully’s eyebrows knit. “Someone dug him up?”

“Maybe. The ground wasn’t disturbed from what we could see. Who knows.” Ramirez shrugged. “I just know something fucky is going on.”

Agent Grey added “Since July the murders have continued steadily on the new moon of each month. There have been sometimes two or three murders in a night. But only at the new moon.”

“I see the new moon and the new moon sees me” Scully said absentmindedly.

Mulder looked at her questioningly.

“It’s an Irish saying. The new moon is important to many cultures. The Irish saw the new moon as protector and would pray to it in pagan times. Even today there are superstitions of prosperity, or predictions of the weather, or future husbands through prayer to it. 

In the Japanese shinto religion the new moon is a time for wishes. In roman times the new moon represented the maiden goddess, virginal, a rebirth. 

Many cultures see the new moon as a battle between the gods or goddesses for control over the sun or the sky. 

Other cultures saw it as a time of evil, bad luck and death. In India its associated with the invocation of evil spirits and asking favours to curse enemies.” 

She finished and realized everyone was looking at her. Ramirez and Grey with interest and surprise and Mulder with that look she’d seen the old man give his smiling wife.  

She glanced around and shrugged. “I like the moon.” 

Mulder pulled his eyes away from her and asked “Was he buried during the new moon?”

“Umm let me look. Why?” Ramirez said looking in a stack of files.

“Its known to be bad luck to bury a body at the new moon.”

 “Buried July 23. Loca, can we look up a lunar calendar on that thing. He motioned to the IBM laptop on the table.”

“Sí cattivello” she answered in an Italian accent as she sat at the computer.

Scully smiled at their pet names for each other. She didn’t know what ‘cattivello’ meant but she was sure it was just as sweetly insulting as ‘loca’.

“It could be strigoi, troubled spirits who are said to rise from the grave. They can transform into animals, or become invisible. Were any of the victims drained of some or all of their blood?”

“Not that we are aware.” Answered Ramirez.

“Hmm” 

“So you guys really believe in this stuff?” Ramirez asked genuinely interested

“Well it might be hokey to label things you encounter after mythology, but it doesn't make these things any less real.” Mulder said.

“Some of these cases can be easily explained with scientific fact.” Scully added again

“And the others?”

“Science hasn’t caught up with some of whats possible yet.” Scully pursed her lips, glancing at Mulder “And sometimes, what seems like something impossible is just, humanity being well… human.”

She could feel Mulder’s eyes on her but she chose not to look, not to view the disappointment she knew would be there.

Agent Grey inhaled sharply, “July 23rd was a new moon.” She looked around the table at them.

“What about possession, Scully” Mulder said “Like the dybbuk from Jewish mythology? Or Italian folk magic spirit possessions are not uncommon, which would tie into these guys… Italian-ness”

“Mulder” Scully said quietly glancing at the pair of agents.

Mulder continued in that familiar tone he took when she was being skeptical. “Nearly every culture on earth has mythology related to possession, Scully. Lemures in Italian mythology are the vengeful spirits of those not afforded proper burial, or affection by their loved ones. Maybe this guy was buried on an unlucky new moon, turned into one of those things, and is possessing someone or doing the work himself to get revenge on those who hurt him.”

“Maybe we should discuss this in private first.” Scully said looking at him, then glancing at the agents.

Agent Ramirez put his hands up “Hey, my abuelitas each had their own bruja superpowers even if they were devout catholics in their own minds.”

Agent Grey smirked. “You’ll find our backgrounds directly inform our willingness to be open minded.”

Mulder nodded at them appreciatively.

“Im sure any of these things are possible, but we cant rule out this man has just faked his death to get revenge on his associates for some slights he perceived.” Scully said determined to make her point. It felt like swimming up a waterfall with so many people so open to impossible possibilities.

“What about, you know… vampires” Ramirez asked.

“Its not vampires” they both said in unison. The agents raised their eyebrows in answer.

Scully finished “at least not from what you’ve told us so far” She cleared her throat remembering their misadventures in Texas. Mulder scratched his forehead, preoccupied.

“Whatever the case may be, we’re determined to catch whatever or whomever is doing this, this new moon.” Agent Ramirez said.

“Saturday evening.” Agent Grey clarified. “The Italian mob is meeting the Greek mafia at the Astor ballroom for some… business discussions. They’re throwing an auction with other activities, gambling etcetera.” 

Agent Ramirez added “We’re not there to get them for the gambling, our priority is to find this killer.”

“And they’re okay with you doing this?”

“The head of one of the families knows and has invited us to be there in the ballroom. Obviously we’re not invited to the closed door meeting.”

Mulder sighed. Scully looked at the agents reading their faces. This seemed like walking into a room with a bomb in it.

“A couple of his connections will be there. One of the last people we’ve been keeping an eye on who refuses to come under FBI protection is Cusano’s widow.”

“Lucia Lombardi” Grey said handing them her file. She pronounced the c like a ch.

They put their elbows on the table as they both looked down at her file. She had a timeless beauty about her. Black hair cascading in waves, down her shoulders, framed a heart shaped face adorned with high cheekbones and a fine jawline with a small pointy chin. Honey brown eyes seemed to glow from an upturned sultry gaze. She had a perfect pout, colored in blood red lipstick.

“They call her the red widow. On account she wears red to each of her husbands funerals.” Agent Grey said

“Each?” Scully said “How many have there been?”

“Four and counting. But this time she’s claimed she’ll never marry again.”

“Yeah right” Scully said under her breath and Agent Grey laughed. 

“So what do you guys need us for?” Mulder asked.

“Okay so this is were you guys come in. We’re well known to a bunch of people in the organization and we don’t want to be a distraction since we only have the invite of one person. We need you to be in the room keeping an eye on things, well be in a side room with the rest of the team, Agents Vince and Thomas will be out in the hall with you’s too, keeping an eye out”

“An eye out… for the ghost of Cusano?”

“For anything.”

“Won’t they know right away we aren’t mob?” Scully asked

“Its an open invitation auction. Well, open to more than just mob anyway. The business dealings are just part of the festivities.”

“Obfuscation.” Mulder said

“Exactly.”

“Now about the outfits.” Agent Ramirez continued “Agent Mulder you’ll need a suit and over coat. They’re wearing fitted knee length overcoats and thin knot thick ties with matching pocket squares. We have some options picked out you can try on.”

Mulder nodded and kept reading the reports in front of him. It seemed he’d decided he was interested in this case after all.

Agent Grey got up “I didn’t want to bring out anything until I saw you, whats your dress size? 

Scully glanced at the men and then said “Four, usually.” 

“Shoe size?” 

“Seven”

“Perfect, let me get the some of the things we picked” She disappeared into the racks of clothing.

“Loca, no elige el rojo, trae los negro. Combinará mejor con su pelo rojo.” He said in rapid spanish, glancing at Scully’s hair. She guessed what he was saying from the look.

“Chiaramente. Non sono tonto” she called back.

He grinned at this and looked down. 

“You both speak multiple languages?” Scully asked him.

“Well I’m Puerto Rican. Quintessential New Yorker” He laughed “Stella is just really good at learning languages, but she was sent to Italy to her nona every summer so the Italian comes natural, she teaches me.” He said proudly.

Scully looked at his appreciation for his partner and a pang hit her in the stomach.  

Stella came back holding a bunch of hangers and a box of shoes. She motioned to Scully, “Come on we can try things on over here.” She led Scully to the only bathroom and handed her the first dress. 

“I can alter things so if its too big thats okay. Just let me see once your in it.”

“Just come in with me, it’ll go faster.” Scully said and the women disappeared with the pile of dresses into the bathroom.”

·˚ ༘ ༊*·˚·˚ ༘ ☾ ⋆*･ﾟ:⋆*･ﾟﾟ･༘ ☾･ﾟ⋆･ﾟ:⋆·˚ ༘ ˚·˚·༊ ༘ ˚·⋆:ﾟ･⋆ﾟ･*☾ ༘⋆:ﾟ･⋆ ☾ ༘ ˚·˚·*༊ ༘ ˚·

An hour and a half later they stood in front of the elevator both having picked out outfits and been fitted by Agent Grey. She pushed the elevator button and Mulder nudged her arm with his elbow. 

“Do you think they’re..?”

Scully raised her eyebrow.

Mulder made a passive face, asking for her opinion.

“Maybe, maybe not. It feels unfair to speculate when everyone gossips about us behind our backs though.”

“They do?” Mulder said in surprise. “What do they say?”

“Only what I’ve heard when I’ve been in a toilet stall, or rounding the corner to the break room. Nothing Im sure you haven't heard or seen yourself, you know, when people shut up when you walk into a room?”

The elevator dinged and the doors opened.

“I just assumed they did that because they don’t like me.” Mulder said in a sarcastic monotone. as they walked onto the elevator.

Scully gave him a sceptical look and he added. “I don’t know if you noticed Scully but I keep to myself.” 

“You mean the janitor you get your torn up reports from, doesn't share gossip with you?”

“As a matter of fact no.”

The elevator doors closed and Scully leaned against the back of the car, looking at her shoes. Thankful Mulder wasn’t completely blanking her after what she had said to him in the parking garage. Mulder touched her shoe with his and she looked up. 

“So did you ever pray to the new moon for anything?”

“Maybe. Why?” She asked suspicious.

“Just wondering what the spell for a husband is.”

“Are you in need of a husband Mulder?” She cocked her head at him.

Mulder shrugged and she smiled despite herself, he looked at her pleased with himself.  

“Nobody danced naked in front of the moon if thats what you’re asking. At least not when we asked about our husbands.” She smirked at the shocked look on Mulder’s face.

She rolled her eyes. “My sister and I did it once. We were in high school. If you wanted to see your future husband you stuck a knife in the dirt under your knees while saying a prayer to the new moon. Aunt Mabel taught us.”

“What was the prayer?” he asked.

She looked at him and said in a monotone.

“New moon, new moon, Happy may I be Whoever is my true love This night may I see.”

The elevator stopped and let them out. 

“And what did you see?” He asked when they were outside.

“Just mud on a knife. Although Missy swore up and down she saw the name of her high school crush on the blade.”

“Maybe you were looking at the wrong side.” Mulder said voice shaking, trying to keep his laugh in.

“Maybe it was just dirt, Mulder.” She said as they reached the car.

Mulder shrugged “Never say never, Scully” he said jovially as he opened his door and gave her a grin. 

Steep afternoon sun hit his face in amber and set his eyes alight, a singing green.

She smiled back lost in his fine face, but then looked away. This was too close, this felt like relief when she still had a knot in her chest at his misplaced trust.

“I think I’m going to walk home from here.” She saw his face falter in worry.

“Scully, don’t be ridiculous, thats an hour walk from here.”

“I just need to clear my head. I’ll be fine Mulder.” She said starting to back away towards the parking lot exit. 

“Scully” he sighed “Don’t.” It was like a request. Almost pleading. “I can drop you off at home.”

“Its such a nice day.” she said backing away and forcing a smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes. 

He looked like she had kicked his puppy. She felt the knot in her chest tighten. She’d always been so easily swayed by those eyes, and his beautiful face, something else only he alone was so accomplished at. But she was an expert at running, and she gave in to well practiced instincts.    

“Ill see you tomorrow.” She said as she turned and walked towards the gate. She heard the car door close but the engine didn’t turn over. The car never passed, as she expected, even as she turned the corner at the end of the street. 

·˚ ༘ ༊*·˚·˚ ༘ ☾ ⋆*･ﾟ:⋆*･ﾟﾟ･༘ ☾･ﾟ⋆･ﾟ:⋆·˚ ༘ ˚·˚·༊ ༘ ˚·⋆:ﾟ･⋆ﾟ･*☾ ༘⋆:ﾟ･⋆ ☾ ༘ ˚·˚·*༊ ༘ ˚·

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Epilogue

@today-in-fic ✨

[emitheduck]

Mr and Mrs Castle (Frank Castle x Reader) (2/3)

a/n: hope u all enjoy, Part 1 is here if u need it MASTERLIST

The ride in the car was so silent, that the driver must have thought if he were to move a single muscle or make a slight sound, Frank would kill him right there. Meanwhile, in the backseat Frank was so preoccupied with the suit that (Y/n) had sent over that he wouldn’t have even noticed the radio blasting. How she had gotten his correct size, he will never know (and also not really want to know)

The driver was once again silent as they pulled to a stop outside of a large tower of a building. When (Y/n) had said he would get dropped off at her house, he did assume it would be some kind of penthouse living situation, as anyone with money in the city usually lived on the top floors of some kind of huge building that touched the clouds.

“Sorry I’m a little late, I had to make sure everything was situated before I left.” (Y/n) smiled as someone opened the door for her, sliding in the back seat next to Frank. “Would you look at that, you clean up beautifully.” 

“You don’t look too bad yourself. How much did that dress cost you?” He smirked as they started driving, trying his best to not focus on how low cut the dress was. It seemed to sparkle from the lights of the passing city. 

She rolled her eyes as she gave him a once over again. “I’d rather not say. However, it looks like you need some help.” (Y/n) said as she reached up to fix his tie. “I take it this is one of the skills you don’t have?”

Frank tried not to look ashamed, but nodded. “Yeah I guess it wasn’t something I’ve had a lot of practice in. Gave it my best shot though.”

“Yeah it kinda looks like you did it with your eyes closed. But that’s okay, I’m an expert.” (Y/n) told him as she undid the messy knot and got to work on retying it as they pulled up to the venue for the evening. “Not too tight?”

“It’s perfect thank you.” He was trying his best not to look at her. It was something he had taught himself. If you don’t look a pretty girl in the eyes, then it is impossible to fall in love with her. That was almost a true fact as he caught himself looking over at the profile of (Y/n)’s face as she looked down at her phone. Fuck. “So what exactly are we doin’ here tonight?”

She locked her phone and stuffed it inside the clutch she was holding before turning to face him. “This party is going to be filled with important people, more importantly, bad people. I’m just trying to go, slip a few pills into some people's drinks, and then get the hell out of there before I get a gun to my head.”

Frank cocked a brow. “You’re going to kill people?”

“You act like I’ve never done it before.” (Y/n) smirked as the car started to slow as they got closer to the party. “Just because I don’t use my fists to beat people to a pulp, doesn’t mean I haven’t done things.”

“Who are you after?” Frank asked before the car stopped, getting out of his side first so he could go around to the other side; opening the door for (Y/n) and holding her hand as she stepped out. 

She smiled, intertwining her arm with his as they walked inside. “His name is Sergei. He’s a fucking awful man who loves to beat the shit out of people. One of my best guys got in his way, and they found his body in the river by the docks.” She told him while they walked, making sure to keep her voice low so no one around them could hear. “If things get messy, I don’t mind if you start bashing in some skulls.”

Frank’s lip twitched upward into a smirk. “Now that’s something that I think I can do.” He said as they followed the crowd of people who were filing into one grand room. “I don’t think I’ve ever been to the plaza.”

“Remind me to get you a room.” (Y/n) smiled while they weaved through the people to find their seats. There were circular tables everywhere, each table adorned with a large flower centerpiece. This was some kind of charity dinner, and people were walking around with trays of champagne and different foods. “My suite is usually just a call away.”

“You really do surprise me, you know that.” Frank chuckled while they walked around the room. “Don’t know too many people that have an expensive hotel on call.”

The two were about to sit down, but a booming voice interrupted them. “If it isn’t the beautiful (Y/n).” 

She sighed under her breath, but put on a smile as she turned around. “Wilson Fisk, ever the charmer.”

He was about to talk, but clearly lost his train of thought when he noticed Frank at her side. “I must apologize, I didn’t realize you had company this evening.”

“Oh it’s alright Wilson, I just couldn’t hide him forever.” She told him, smiling as she leaned into Frank’s side. “I just couldn’t help myself.” (Y/n) told Fisk, holding out her hand to him.

Fisk was clearly surprised, as was Frank, to see a large ring on her left hand. The diamond sparkled in the light, as did the emeralds that adorned it. “Someone had to make an honest woman out of me, and the courthouse seemed more fitting for us.” She smiled, her hand resting on Frank's chest as she pulled him into a side hug. “It’s Mrs.Castle now.”

“You truly did get a lucky woman.” Fisk smiled slightly, grabbing a champagne flute as it passed. “If you excuse me.” He said, leaving the two. 

Frank was never one to be left speechless, but looking down at her, he couldn’t find the words. He just couldn’t help but stare down at the ring. He didn’t think that part of this plan was faking a marriage. 

“Sorry to throw that on you, just easier to seem off the market. They know I don’t date, and it’s easier to seem like I settled down.” She explained, grabbing her own champagne and handing him a flute. 

“It’s whatever.” Frank shrugged, downing his flute in one quick sip. “Wouldn’t take you for someone who would take a man’s last name.”

She smiled, sipping at her drink. “Oh I’m full of surprises you’ll come to find out.” She told him, looking over at the dance floor. “Come dance with me.”

He sighed, smiling bashfully. “I don’t dance sweetheart, thought you would have known that.” 

“It wasn’t a question.” (Y/n) told him while she grabbed his hand, pulling him to the dance floor. “Just one song, humor me.” She smiled, as the moved together for a slow dance. “I knew the punisher couldn’t resist a pretty girl asking nicely.” 

“You really do surprise me.” He whispered to her while he leaned down, his lips ghosting over her ear. “You have someone watching you. I think he’s going to cut in.”

“I know, that’s why I wanted to dance. Just make sure we can get a quick exit out of here.” She told him, expertly pulling away right as the man came over. 

“May I cut in?” He asked, his hand extended for a dance. This man was clearly Russian, and if there was a guess, this was the man they were after. 

(Y/n) flashed him a smile. “How about a drink? Frank, do you mind?” She asked, not waiting for an answer before she left with the man to go towards the bar.

From where Frank stood, it looked like they were old friends who just ran into each other, having been reunited after a long time. To the naked eye, that’s what they would have looked like. What Frank truly saw was (Y/) gesturing with her hands, and being able to drop a pill into the man’s glass. She then excused herself, and went right to Frank's side. 

“Time to leave?” He questioned, watching her nod silently and grab his hand. This was the first time she had ever looked truly scared, which also was a clear sign that she had pulled off exactly what she wanted to. 

“That should kick in, probably in about 20 minutes. Gives us plenty of time to blame it on someone else at the party.” She said, glancing over as the man was now talking to a different man. “Shows them for killing my fucking men.” 

“I have to give it to you, that was a pretty smooth drop too. I don’t even know if anyone would have noticed it.” Frank smiled as they got into the car that was waiting for them out front. “Where was the pill hidden anyway.”

(Y/n) smiled, holding up her left hand. “Sweetheart, you proposed with it.” She told him, and Frank could faintly see where one of the diamonds was missing on the ring. 

MASTERLIST

[zaenight]

MAMA DIDN'T RAISE NO BITCHES // Ez reyes : Nestor octeva CHAPTER 1

------------

Patiently waiting for ep 1 and 2 of mayans s5 😗

----------------

"Uncle Tig we'll be fine , you said Marcus set us up with a house , stop whining." Jess said , Jessie Trager , the youngest niece of Tig , told the man who was spouting out profanities.

"He's right to worry , what if the sons and mayans go to war and they try to kill us for being related to him." Sage , her older sister stated.

"Thats not helping! , and your the one who wanted to move!" Jess exclaimed jumping up and down.

"Just stating the facts." Sage said .

"The lass is right , yer sure ya can't move somewhere close by." Chibs said , he became the president after Jax teller passed , he also happened to be Jessie's godfather.

"Alvarez said they needed a Docter that they could trust , Moving to santo Padre could make the bond stronger." Happy lowman stated , The tacoma killer was the godfather of Sage , who like him , was an expert of torture.

"I like torturing more than I like healing , but we get a house already set up and everything , It would be a shame to waste this oppurtunity , Plus Chucky's there , we'll know someone." Sage stated as Jess made a noise of disgust.

"Still can't belive you lost the card game and had to give up

Chucky." Jess said to Chibs.

"We'll be a call away Little girl , just calll if we need to kill some Mayans." Happy stated as Sage got into their packed car , Jess hugged the three men , hopping in.

"Where's the fun in that when you could do it yourself." Sage said winking  as Jess started rambling about getting this show on the road.

--------------

The two arrived at a house , it Reminded the girls of Piney's cabin , which they stayed at frequently , No other houses around , but not too far from town , it was perfect.

"Marcus , Thank you for this." Sage told the man she and her sister have known since they were children , The mayans and sons had their ups and downs , not only that but Sage had dated his son Esai , who would've proposed to her , until his death , she still has the ring on a chain around her neck , It was found by Diana , his mother ,and the first wife of marcus alvarez , who gave it to the then seventeen year old, no one has seen her sense the death of esai.

"No need for that niñita , welcome to Santo padre , if you two need anything , call." He said as they thanked him.

-------------

"Angel where's your Prospect?" Obispo Losa , also known as Bishop , president of the mayans charter , asked

the man.

"He went too see our old man." Angel Reyes said , his little brother had some years shaved off his sentence , and is now prospecting for the club.

"Need him on this run , and Marcus wants him to show the trager girls around." Bishop said to him.

"Protection? , and the Bone lady and that little manipulator are here?" Angel said , you may be asking why he called Jess a manipulater , simply because she'll act dumb then end up beating you at your own game.

"Yes those two , Sage will be our go too doctor , Think he's ready?" Bishop questioned.

"Yeah." Angel said.

"Good." The shorter man said as he and Hank walked away.

--------------

It went wrong fast , they got shot up , Sage and Jess drove to the rescue , Miguel was Pissed as he greeted the two.

Sage rushed over to Creeper , Greeting the men , Jess knew a bit of medical stuff thanks to her , so she helped with Riz,Ez and Sage locked eyes before she focused on creeper.

"So who was it ?" Miguel questioned the men , Creeper winced as Sage took a bullet out , cleaning the wound.

"Don't know , they were pros." Bishop said as Galindo looked through a book of fabrics.

"Well At least we didn't lose 2.4 million in product to a bunch of amateurs." Miguel stated.

"They ambushed us sir , came out of nowhere." Creeper said as Sage made a makeshift sling out of fabric , Riz had somewhat recover , Its the best she could do without proper equipment , he'll have to go to another doctor untill she can get her hands on Stuff.

"You'll need time to heal , no going out and about for awhile." Sage stated to creeper , as Jess started twirling around in circles until she sat down.

"We change route... , vehicle...,time and day, every run is different , So... they came out of somewhere , and someone gave them the details." Miguel stated getting up.

"No one in my club." Bishop stated as Creeper winced.

"Implying im the one foolish enough , to employ a traitor ? , hmmm." Miguel said , no one noticed the two girls , angel , and coco , glance at eachother.

"The guy holding Gilly was dark skinned , Ink on his arm , it looked like uh... tribal letters , B-T-T." Ez said , as a prospect , a new one , speaking out of turn without being asked was a big no no.

Sage loved it , she was gonna enjoy every second of it.

"He remembers shit , had guns at our heads , who knows what the hell he saw." Angel sajd turning back around.

"The Prospect." Miguel said as Jess got up looking through fabrics.

"B-T-T , base town tribe , samoan gang out of san Bernardino." Bishop said thinking.

"Didn't some of them do time for killing Haji ?" He asked.

"Fallujah , Rival company crazy as fuck." Coco said.

---------

After discussing who it was that shot them up , Miguel wanted the shot caller , and they were gonna get him what he wants , threataning to kill a mayan if the shot called isn't at his church pew by tommorow , but the girls did realize he glanced towards them for a bit.

Yeah so much for not being on his radar.

But anyways Bishop had punched Ez for speaking out of turn.

"You don't speak unless we tell you too , I don't give a shit what you remember , Educate your prospect." Bishop told him before turning to angel.

Sage clapped slightly gaining their attention , Before helping Ez up , checking his face.

They walked away with taza telling them to Bring creeper to the doctor that usually takes care of them , honestly why is she here , he also stated that El Padrino's on his way.

They're lucky she's being paid , Jess was skipping around creeper , who laughed at the girl , who seemed to brighten things up.

"Padrino , Godfather." Ez translated as Angel got him up from the chair Sage sat him down on.

"Alvarez , The reason me and Jess came here." Sage stated , As Jess ran ahead of them spouting nonsense,into the tunnels they went.

----------------

"Right there , Careful!" Sage exclaimed , as She helped the older male docter prepare stuff.

"Hiciste un buen trabajo, quizás tenga que contratarte." The doctor said to Sage as Jess sat down.

(you did a good job , I might have to hire you)

"gracias señor, hice lo mejor que pude con lo que tenía a mano, y podría aceptar esa oferta." Sage replied perfectly.

(thank you sir , I did my best with what was on hand , and I might take you up on that offer.)

And then they got to work , with Jess asking when the fuck she learned spanish.

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Part 1 of ep 1 perro/oc

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[forensicated]

01x10 - Death Of A Cracksman

Taffy updates a mother that they've found her son who is causing havoc in the front office. Everyone is steering clear! Except June who gets lumbered! She's going to be at least another half an hour whilst she gets someone else to look after the other children.

Alfie Mullins, an elderly prisoner on home leave hasn't yet returned to the prison. The senior prison officer tells the other to contact his local nick - Sun Hill - and mark it 'Prison Escapee' to get them to track him down and teach him a lesson. Taffy passes the notification over to Bob who recognises the name. Alfie is not dangerous and is in prison as he is an expert safe breaker. Bob is fuming that they've made a gentle man out to be dangerous and say he has escaped when really he's on rehabilitation leave from prison and has simply failed to return. Bob says he knows Alfie and he'll be back in prison the next morning under his own steam. He passes Tom the printout. He also scoffs at Alfie being marked down as 'dangerous, approach with caution.' "You don't get them like Alfie anymore, more's the pity!"

Bob heads out to try and find him with Taffy and finds that someone has stolen his helmet! He goes through the lockers to find another. One is too big, "Probably Dave Litten's." (I wish they'd done one that was too small here like Goldilocks!) and finally he finds one that fits, pilfering it. On the beat he gives Taffy a history lesson in Alfie - he was a real gentleman who took pride in his work, cleaned up after himself, always pleaded guilty and played by the book. He found himself too old by the time he started to get day release on this final stretch and couldn't adjust to it or find his feet and was back at the prison pleading to be let back in by 6pm. Now he only comes home because they literally chuck him out the prison and his wife demands it! Eileen Mullins, Alfie's wife, says he returned to the prison that morning. Alfie can be seen hiding - not very well as his feet are poking out, his cigarettes are on the table with his paper and his wife is cooking his breakfast. Bob smiles and plays along, telling 'Eileen' to tell Alfie 'if she sees him' that he has to return to the prison by 6am the next morning. He further teases them by saying they're showing Alfie's favourite film in the next week at the prison and he wouldn't want to miss that. "You know what? Alfie's bacon's burning." "See what you made me do!" Eileen protests. "Alright you two, out!"

In the pub, a group of three friends are talking about a 'job' that night at a factory that one of them used to work at and they talk about what tools they'll need to take with them, agreeing to meet at half 8 down the pub. The one who used to work at the factory promises that there won't be an alarm.

Bob rings the prison and guarantees Alfie will be back with them by 6am the next morning. Our favourite boys in blue don't have much luck with their cars as it's now Bob's turn for his to refuse to start. Roy arrives, pulling into the carpark behind him he tries to sneak in without being spotted, carrying his best bib and tucker under his arm in a suitbox. Bob catches him and tells him to enjoy the boxing that night and not to sit too close to the ring because he wouldn't want to get blood on his best shirt. Roy changes and appears in the front office with Tom doing a double take at the sight of Roy in a tux.

He tells Tom where he'll be if anything serious comes in. For everything else, Ted and Mike should be around working late. If his wife rings, they should tell her that he's out on a job. He finally asks Tom if his bowtie is right and asks him to sort it out for him.

The three burglars break into the factory via a toilet window. At the same time, Alfie is being told off by his wife for not doing jobs around the house and for sitting on his bum watching TV all day.

The factory boys turn the light on once the blinds are drawn and find a cupboard padlocked. "This is gonna be a doddle boys." one says before they break in and find half a bottle of gin, a bottle of scotch and just £4. They argue about the job, especially as they were promised at least £50 each by the former employee. Eventually they find an old safe but are unable to open it and start to argue again. As the camera pulls back, the key to the safe is seen up on a higher shelf. They suggest removing it from the building using an old trolley where they can then work on it in their own time.

There's a silent burglar alarm sounding at the factory, but the police haven't been able to get hold of the key holders so send Dave. He has a look around and finds it secure so returns and takes over the comms desk. Alec is very happy that Dave is not usually on his relief as he could see them having "a very unhappy relationship" because he is too early to cover for the desk operator and too slow to answer the phone.

The three burglars discuss when will be the best time to remove the safe and one remembers that Alfie Mullins is at home on prison leave. The other two have no idea who he is so he explains that he's a famous safecracker from the 60's and 70's.

Roy keeps checking in on the station when the boxing finishes early. He passes on a new number of where he is - an all-night pool hall - just in case anything does come in.

Come the morning, the boys are seen wheeling the trolley out of the warehouse as the milkman delivers nearby. Cutting to the estate, Alfie leaves the house and kisses his wife goodbye. The man who mentioned Alfie spots him returning to prison and follows him, asking him to come and help them open the safe. Alfie isn't interested, even when offered a £25K cut despite the burglars not knowing what is inside. He grabs Alfie and asks if he and his friends aren't good enough. Alfie struggles with him and falls back against a small stone wall, banging his head in the process. The man stands over him and tells him not to mess about as Alfie gasps his last breaths. Realising what's happened, the lad makes a break for it, running away as fast as he can and almost barging into a man with a bike as he does.

Bob receives a telephone call at home to tell him that Alfie has been found dead in the street. Bob is shocked and heads straight to the scene. Roy also heads direct to the same location from the pool hall and Mike (and his very fetching pink jumper) and Ted are called in early to man CID. Ted sends Mike to the scene to help Bob and Mike and sets up an incident room.

The boys can't open the safe at a nearby lock-up despite going at it with a chisel and their friend hasn't returned. They suspect he's still trying to locate Alfie. They then attempt to use a drill and it breaks the bit. Later they suspect their friend has disappeared "with the £4 from the office burning a hole in his pocket". The 'burning' gives the eldest man an idea and he suggests using his friend's past as a trainee welder to try and break into the safe.

With the incident room filling up, Roy, Mike and Bob return to the station to update everyone on what they know. Roy explains to the gathered officers that the only accepted excuses will be deaths and births as there's no time off until the case is cracked. They will give each officer a job to do and 12 hours to do it before they will meet back at 7pm to discuss what they've found out.

Part 2 ends with the young lad hiding behind a wall with his head in his hands which suggests he's been there since it happened.

As far as the police have been able to put together, Alfie left home at 5am to catch the early morning bus back to prison. His route was through a well-known shortcut beside a graveyard. The first witness who lives around the corner from the graveyard was woken by a man shouting at Alfie. Marks found on the pavement suggested he was followed and they had a struggle and then he fell backward hitting his head on a parapet. The assailant ran away through the graveyard where he came face to face with a night watchman. The watchman then went on to find Alfie minutes later. Unfortunately, he is as blind as a bat and was unable to give a description of the man - not even his colour or age.

A detective asks if it could be accidental but Roy is adamant that it's murder until proven otherwise. Roy has been totting up Alfie's cut of his past jobs that he never got paid for and it comes to approx £80K He suspects someone believed Alfie either had that money or that he knew where it was stashed and assaulted him in an attempt to get it.

Bob hangs back to speak to Roy and tells him he's completely wrong about Alfie because he does not have a penny and his wife is claiming social security. Roy suggests Bob should have done his job the day before and then Alfie would still be around.

One of the burglars tries to use a blow torch that they've stolen from another one of the other lock-ups but it burns out and they're unable to use it to get in the safe. The missing lad finally turns out and pretends he fell asleep drunk on a bench. He drinks from the gin bottle before he chokes out that Alfie couldn't spare the time to help them so he slapped him about a bit and suspects he went too heavy.

As Station Officer, Bob takes his mood out on the Uniform staff over their poorly written and misspelled statements and for not filing things properly. He goes back over the silent alarm from last night again and assigns it to Taffy who complains that it's not even his beat. Bob could not care less and orders him to follow it up. Taffy gently tells him that he's very sorry about Alfie and Bob thanks him.

The manager of the factory tells Taffy that the safe that was stolen was unused other than perhaps containing a few old papers and it had been moved into the cupboard to make room. They'd actually had a new safe installed not that long ago in the floor in accounts. Taffy says he'll call for the fingerprint people to come and the manager tells him he's not bothered about the safe but he would like the trolley back and to concentrate on that. Taffy says he'll have to add it into the report but he'll concentrate his inquiries on the trolley.

Taffy leaves and gets stopped by a man who has had his lock-up broken into and his welding gear stolen. Taffy asks him where the lock-up is and it's just around the corner from the factory.

Roy tells Ted that he's going to speak to Alfie's wife and asks him to tell the superintendent that he's arranged Alfie's PM for midday and that if he wants to speak to him he'll see him there. The child that had gone missing the day before has been 'found' again in the station - complaining to Roy that he "hasn't got [his] helmet on!"

"Can't you get rid of that kid? We're running a murder inquiry, not a bleeding daycare!"

Taffy takes Jimmy home to his mother who doesn't seem all that bothered about him having been missing. "We were thinking of adopting him, Mrs Draper until my Sgt worked out we couldn't afford to keep him in chocolate." She offers him a cup of tea and he accepts, having a look round the garden. Opposite he spots men creeping out of a lock-up and spots the trolley that was stolen. He asks Mrs Draper if she knows who owns the lock up. She says no but they had kept her up all night banging and drilling. Taffy uses her phone to ring Roy and update him about the missing equipment and the lads that were seen leaving another lock up alongside what Mrs Draper said.

Roy tells him to stay put and not to do anything or let them see him and that he's on the way. "I hate to admit it, but I might owe you an apology..." Roy tells Bob as they head over, suspecting that it sounds like a job that someone would have tried to get Alfie involved in... if he was still alive.

Sun Hill hide in another lock-up and wait for the suspects to return which they soon do, carrying old mattresses. They give them a moment to get inside and shut the door before Roy signals to the cars and officers to move into place. He then gives the nod and they run towards the lock-up, taking the suspects by surprise and wrestle them outside. Looking further inside they find a bomb set to blow the safe open. Roy quickly tells Mike to warn the officers not to use their radios - as he leaves the safe to do so, Jim answers a call...

The bomb explodes, leaving a trail of smoke, feathers and a very unimpressed Roy...

"What bloody idiot did that?"

[beardedmrbean]

Porvoo's Uusimaa is among the papers reporting that the Finnish Meteorological Institute is forecasting accumulation of up to 10 centimetres of fresh snow in some southern parts of the country and around 3-8 centimetres in central regions.

The storm was expected to be at its height during the morning hours with bad driving conditions affecting commutes.

Iltalehti writes that road conditions on Thursday morning would likely cause grey hair for both motorists, people using public transport and pedestrians.

And that's not all. The next of the "nearly apocalyptical weather reversals" is to be a temperature rise of nearly 40 degrees Celsius in many areas.

The paper quotes Foreca meteorologist Anna Latvala as saying there will be a huge turnaround in the weather next week, especially in Northern Ostrobothnia and southern and central parts of the country.

She noted that on Tuesday the temperature at Ylivieska, in the region of Northern Ostrobothnia was -37C. By the beginning it next week, it is forecast to be well above the freezing point.

Before you drive

The farmers' and forest owners' paper Maaseudun Tulevaisuus reminds readers that safe driving will be a challenge in much of the country during the day because of blowing snow reducing visibility, and slippery road surfaces.

The paper suggests that drivers do four things before getting behind the wheel in order to improve traffic safety.

The first is to check current warnings from the Finnish Meteorological Institute's warning map.

The next is to take a look at the traffic situation report from Finntraffic.

Before setting out, you should check your vehicle's lights.

Many people rely heavily on their car's automatic light system and may therefore inadvertently drive with only their parking lights on. A good tip is to switch on the headlights regardless of the automatic mode. Visibility of the car can also be improved by turning on the rear fog lights. And taillights should also be kept clean, as they may become clogged with snow.

Finally, remember to keep an assured clear distance in traffic and avoid unnecessary tailgating. .

Experts say that the recommended safety distance when driving in urban areas is half the driving speed in metres. So, for example, at a speed of 40 km/h, the safety distance is 20 metres. On highways, the driving speed in metres becomes the recommendation, which means, for example, when driving 80 km/h you should keep a distance of at least 80 metres.

Missing migrants

Ilta-Sanomat reports that more than 160 asylum seekers have disappeared from reception centres in the country, according to Antti Lehtinen, the director of the asylum unit of the Finnish Immigration Service.

All of those now unaccounted for came to Finland over the border with Russia after the beginning of August.

Lehtinen believes that many of those who have disappeared have gone to another country to file for asylum. Sixteen have been confirmed to have done so, he told Ilta-Sanomat.

So far, the Netherlands, Belgium, Norway, France, Sweden, Germany and Switzerland have requested that Finland accept the return of these migrants.

Lehtinen considers it likely that, in addition to the 16 confirmed cases, several more of the 160 missing asylum seekers have moved on from Finland to another EU country and that more readmission requests will be received in coming weeks.

He also told the paper that about 50 decisions have been made on the asylum applications of people who crossed the eastern border during the autumn.

Two-thirds have been negative decisions and one-third have been terminated or withdrawn. So far, no positive decisions have been made on the asylum applications filed by migrants that came across the eastern border during the autumn.

From the beginning of August to the end of last year, a total of 1,323 people who crossed Finland's eastern border applied for asylum. So far this year, 15 people who crossed the eastern border have applied for asylum.

Summer traffic chaos?

Helsingin Uutiset looks at the potential impact of planned repairs the capital's metro system

Metro traffic through Helsinki's main railway station will probably be suspended next summer for three months due to renovation works.

Metro trains from the east will run no farther than the Helsinki University station, and from the west, the Kampi station.

The paper reports that the plan raised red flags at a city council meeting on Wednesday, with, for example, National Coalition Party councilor Otto Meri saying that the situation will lead to chaos if something is not done about it.

"The number of people traveling during rush hour is so huge that it probably cannot be handled by buses, even if they run every minute. It is of paramount importance that the break could be shortened from three months," he said.

Deputy Mayor Anni Sinnemäki (Green) indicated that downtime for this section of the Metro cannot be shortened, as plans already call for repairs to be carried out in three shifts for practically the entire scheduled three months.

Sinnemäki said that the impact of the closure will be eased by increasing tram traffic.

[countrymusiclover]

2 - We're More Than A School

Part 3

Family is More than Blood

@secretdreamlandmentality

Shutting the car door Klaus and I vamped into the school finding the triplets room seeing Alina, Missy and Hope sitting on their beds. Closing the door with a wave of my hand I put my hands on my hips. "Okay, Alaric told me over the phone. But I want to hear what happened now."

"We used a forbidden spell to fight this dragon that was after a knife." Hope started.

Missy added. "And black magic isn't allowed."

"Even though you literally have taught us dark magic spells before. So we didn't see the problem." Alina throws her hands up in the air. "This all happened because of Landon Kirby."

Klaus crossed his arms over his chest flashing his eyes. "Who's Landon Kirby!"

"He works at the Grill. He makes me milkshakes. His adopted brother Rafael is a werewolf. We brought them and we tried to compel Landon but it didn’t work. Next morning he left with a knife." Hope sent us a sympathy look.

Placing a hand on Nik's shoulder calming him down. "Calm down. Now who actually started the spell?" Hope raised her hand where I nodded in agreement. "Alright Hope you have to help the others pick up trash in the square. Alina, Missy, you have to clean Alaric’s office."

"But mom." Alina whined at me.

Klaus waved his index finger at her. "Listen to your mother Alina."

The three girls left the room with a huff where I turned on my feet taking his hand in mine. "Let’s go find Henrik since they'll be busy." We walked through the hallways passing some younger kids who were running past us. We ended up finding our son sitting in one of the pillar windows.

"Daddy!" Henrik spun around rushing over and flinging his arms and legs around his father.

Nik held him up by his knees chuckling into his shoulder holding him. "Ohhh hey kiddo. What are you doing up here?" I smiled putting my hands together, always taken back by the sight of how much each of other's look alike. The same dirty blonde hair and bright blue eyes.

"Jackson and I are playing hide and seek. And he doesn't know I'm here." He sent a childish smirk like his dad.

Suddenly I jumped releasing a scream before someone touched my arm seeing Jackson standing behind us. "You're not as clever as you think, Henrik. Uh sorry Mrs. Mikaelson."

"It's okay, Jackson." I slumped my shoulders watching the boys go back and forth deciding who was the next seeker. Klaus and I decided to play along too since our girls were busy.

Alina's Pov

Putting away one of the books that Alaric had on the floor I sighed. I was supposed to be spending time with Jack and Henrik but now I'm stuck here. Missy noticed a knife on the desk pointing to it while Alaric was doing his research. "What are you trying to do with it, uncle Ric?"

“I’m trying to destroy it, Missy. Hydrochloric acid. I've tried explosives, an acetylene torch, a circular saw. I've even run over it with my truck. And according to legend, it's indestructible. And I'm starting to agree.” He explained to my younger sister.

The office door got opened and I saw the councilor named Emma come in. “So in addition to father, teacher, mentor, you've also added linguist, slayer of mythical creatures, and demolitions expert to your résumé. That's a lot to take on, especially all by yourself.”

He reassured her until the door opened again. “Emma. When I say I'm fine, I'm…”

Lizzie stormed in covered in milkshake or something all done the front of her shirt. “A jerk. You are a total jerk.”

“What happened to you, Liz? “ I asked her to put away books seeing that she was clearly upset and needed someone to talk to. Her and I have always clicked while Missy went with Josie and Hope was in the middle.

She glared at her father. “A Neanderthal from Mystic Falls High assaulted me with a milkshake. This stupid girl Dana was being... You know what? I can't even talk about it. But now Hope and Josie are all sisters in solidarity. But as I was walking home, I did the work and I dug deep, and I realized that this is all his fault.”

Uncle Ric made a face. “How is this my fault? “

She sniffed through tears almost full on sobbing. “Because if you had just been at that game instead of running around with Hope, then everything would've gone differently.

And it is not fair that she gets to know secrets that your own daughters don't. “

Emma said. “She has a point.”

“Not helping.” He whispered to her.

Lizzie snapped looking at me knowing I would understand. “I am not going back there.”

“Okay, that's fine, um... Why don't you go help the primary school students out in the garden. Alina go with her. Missy can help me here.” He suggested staring at Missy who was reading through the book about the knife.

Lizzie headed through the door and I followed her outside into the garden. “At least now you know why I am so screwed up.”

We sat down on one of the large rocks where she laid down on her back sighing heavily. “I’m sorry my sister is dealing with your dad so much. She just wants to look out for me and Missy since our parents haven’t been in town for two years.”

“I wonder if there’s a guy out there for me like you found Jackson?” Lizzie mumbles under her breath.

Shrugging my shoulders I did feel sorry that she hadn’t found the right guy yet. “I’m sure you’ll find somebody.”

“Lizzie. Alina!” A young boy ran over to us before we lifted our heads seeing a live statue creature growling at us.

Lizzie grabbed the kids hand and we ran back to the school entrance. “Get inside, Pedro! I need you to give me your hand. Now find my dad. Go.” She grabs his hand siphoning magic from him before he ran off.

The creature roared getting in the doorway as Lizzie and I intertwined hands siphoning off of my wolf side and the magic she took from Pedro. “Imperium monstrum.” The creature raised its hand and claws Lizzie before it launched me backwards from her.

Alairc, Emma and Missy came out of his office where I dropped down on my knees seeing she wasn’t moving. “Lizzie?

Oh, my God, Lizzie.”

“I don’t understand why it didn’t scrape me too. Ric, I might be able to heal her but I don’t know.” Glancing up at him with a worried look.

He shook his head picking his daughter up in his arms heading into one of the closed rooms laying her down and gathering everyone else in the school. “Alright we are on lock door period. No one goes outside. I want you all in your rooms. Upper class, you're on the buddy system. Lower class, I want you with Emma to the grand hall. Okay, let’s go…Emma take Lizzie with you and the kids.”

Everyone starts leaving where I rose to my feet from Lizzie’s side. “So what are we going to do?”

“I’m going to draw it away from the school with the knife and you are going to stay inside.” He started to walk away until I drew the knife from his hand and into mine.

“Motus. In case you forgot it didn’t hurt me yet. So I think we need to do this together.” Holding the knife in my hands he sighed letting me come with him. But shortly after the creature stole the knife where I ran off in search of our parents knowing we needed more help than we first expected.

Raelyn’s pov

Shoving my phone in my pocket Klaus and the boys were following my tail. “Why wouldn’t Alairc tell you why he put the school on lock down?” He asked me since we had gotten a text but got no real answer.

“I don’t know but - what the hell was that?” Whipping my head around we could hear something roaring throughout the hallways.

Klaus lowered himself on a knee grabbing Henrik’s shoulders. “Henrik go with Jackson while you’re mother and I go figure this out.” He nodded before Jackson led him away so we could vamp around the corner seeing Alairc and Hope standing in the hallway.

The creature roared again and it sounded like a gargoyle which shouldn’t exist while he told us what happened. “Yeah. Listen, it poisoned Lizzie. I'm guessing, to get my attention. Then it attacked me and took the Knife.”

“The Knife? The dragon Knife? And you're still breathing?” Hope snaps at him.

Ric got cut off by her. “Oh, I have a theory about that.”

“Well, save it, because we had to take down that containment spell to get inside the school, meaning our monster can get out.” Hope rolls her eyes.

We heard footsteps running towards us where we heard our daughters' voices. “Mom. Dad!”

“A containment spell?…Missy. Alina, thank goodness you’re okay.” Slumping my shoulders in relief seeing Alina following Missy.

Alaric realized what she wanted to do. “Lizzie wanted to make sure whatever attacked her didn't escape into the world. Good girl. All right, well, guess we better find it... ...before it makes the evening news.” He grabbed an ax off the wall getting ready to fight since he was just a human now.

“So how'd you take the containment spell down. You’re not a siphon?” Klaus raised a brow at his eldest daughter.

Joise came around the corner before we all slowly walked through the school searching for the creature. “She didn't. I did.”

We all halted in our track’s hearing the gargoyle growling at the top of the stairs. It came towards Hope and she fell down getting out of the way before Alairc jumped in front of her. “Dad!” Josie cried seeing it pointed the knife tip at his heart.

“Get behind it..” Klaus told me before we vamped behind the gargoyle while it was distracted. We grabbed it by the horns where it spun around staring at us instead.

Alairc tried to hit it over the head with his ax. “Fluctus inpulsa.” Alina raised her hands magically, knocking the knife out the creature’s hand.

“Good idea, Lina.” Hope rushed over to Josie. “Josie, help me.”

She asked her. “How?”

“Just repeat after me. Fluctus inpulsa.” Alina nods, holding her hands up while the other two witches follow.

Josie siphons from Hope following the girls. “Fluctus inpulsa. Fluctus inpulsa. Fluctus inpulsa. Fluctus inpulsa. Fluctus inpulsa. Fluctus inpulsa!” The gargoyle suddenly exploded into pieces in front of our eyes.

“All that trouble for a knife. Hope it was worth it buddy.” Missy picked up the knife from the floor.

Spinning onto my feet I snapped at Alaric moving my arms over my chest. “You’ve got some explaining to do, Saltzman. Cause I thought my kids were safe here.”

“Mystic Falls, a town where nothing ever changes is a joke.” Klaus dryly chuckled, draping his arm around my waist tugging me into his chest.

“If you'd asked me a week ago... I would have told you I knew the difference between myth and fact. I would have said that supernaturals were limited to the species under this roof. I would have said that folklore and fairy tales were just stories. But I can no longer say that any of that's true. 'Cause just a few days ago, we were confronted by the existence of a dragon. And then, today, our campus was terrorized by a gargoyle come to life. Some of us... were forced to fight, We won. This time. They were drawn here by a Knife that went missing earlier this week. And for whatever reason, these creatures consider us to be the enemy. In their minds, we're the villains because we won't give them what they want. We don't even know why they want it. But we're gonna find out.” Alairc slowly walked around the room explaining to all the students hearing some of them muttering under their breaths in shock. He lifted his gaze up to me and Klaus saw us intertwine our hands knowing that we smiled at his last words of the speech. “I can't say for sure what their true intentions are. I can't say there won't be more attacks. That's why I'm telling you this. To warn you. To ask you to look out for each other. To what’s best for one another. Because we're more than just a school. We're a family.”

Comments really appreciated ❤️

[crystal-in-nagasaki]

the story of kiwi

As many people from Facebook know, I accidentally became a cat owner earlier this year when I decided to pick up an injured cat from the road. If you aren't familiar with how things typically work in the US, there are many shelters and animal rescues that will take in sick or injured stray animals. I have had instances in the past in the US where I find an injured animal, drive it to a shelter, hand it over to a professional, and go on about my day. I learned the hard way that Japan is not so easy.

On February 25th 2023, the same day I helped clean up the farmhouse with other ALTs from my last post, I was driving down a seluded country road on my way to stay at my friend's house in Minami Shimabara when I found a kitten in the road. He was sitting in the middle of the road loaf-style, and my first thought was "this stupid cat is going to get hit by a car because he's sun bathing in the road." So I pulled over and got out of my car with the intention of shooing him out of the road and going on my way. But as I approached him, I noticed that he was very dirty, shaking, unreactive to my approach, and there was blood on him and the road. Realizing that he had probably been hit by a car, my friend and I picked him up and drove him to the nearest vet.

Now, in the US, I could just hand him to the vet, or receive information about a place that I could hand him over to and be done with it, but this was not the case. The vet seemed confused that I had even bothered to pick him up, simply gave him a fluids shot to keep him alive (he had many other obvious problems that the vet didn't treat or examine), charged me for the care, and sent me out the door.

Many people have heard of the many stray cats in Japan or of its many infamous "cat islands." This is because Japan has a huge stray cat problem, and very few people are trying to fix it or even care about it. Many Japanese people seem to view stray cats as any other wild animal, and I often see dead or very ill cats in the streets. There are some catch and release programs which make efforts to control the cat population by neutering them and releasing them again, but these efforts are pretty futile considering the immense size of the population. I've also heard that many animal shelters that do exist in Japan have a very high kill rate of their animals, as many people buy from pet stores rather than adopt. This leaves a whole population of unwanted and uncared for cats, while pet shops continue to breed and sell purebred cats with a plethora of breeding-related health problems for ridiculously high prices.

Having learned this, I realized that taking this cat in became something much bigger than just dropping him off at a vet or shelter. I realized that if I released him or handed him to a shelter, he would likely die. So with the advice of a helpful expat cat expert living in Tokyo, I began navigating the cat rescue scene in Japan.

I got into contact with a very kind local woman named Ito-san in Omura who runs cat adoption events. She lent me a cage for my furry little guy, who I attached the placeholder name of Kiwi to, since that was the name of a song that was playing in my car when I picked him up and was the first thing I thought of.

I took Kiwi to a proper vet to get examined and discovered a heap of health problems. Not only was his jaw dislocated from being hit by a car, but he had matted fur from being caught in a glue trap that needed to be shaved off altogether, he was covered in ticks, and he had a bacteria in his stool that the vet said was from eating snakes or frogs in the wild. I couldn't even tell what color he was because he was so dirty. His temperment was very calm at first. He sat very still with wide eyes and didn't react when he was touched or moved. I wondered at the life this tiny cat had lived in the mountains of Shimabara, getting stuck in glue traps, navigating the typhoon season, and eating frogs and snakes.

Now, I am but a lowly assistant language teacher with a criminally low salary, so I'm very grateful for the support I received on the GoFundMe I started for Kiwi's care. Through donations from friends, family, and people in the community, we reached our goal and were able to cure all of Kiwi's health problems as well as get him neutered and vaccinated.

The next step was to get Kiwi adopted by a loving family. Of course, I didn't want to take him to a kill shelter, so I worked with Ito-san and my vet to get the word out. I gave flyers to the vet office and adoption events, made a listing on an online adoption website, and brought Kiwi in for adoption events in person. However, being a feral kitten recovering from a traumatic injury and change of lifestyle, he was terrified of people for months, and I was worried his personality would never become more open. As I mentioned before, not many people adopt pets in Japan, so very few people even came to the adoption events, and the ones that did weren't interested in a cat that hissed and backed away when they got close, and who had half of his fur shaved off and a wonky jaw.

Needless to say, it was rough going. In the meantime, I kept Kiwi in my apartment. I fed him, bought him toys, and kept his cage clean. Eventually when I felt he was ready, I opened the cage and began to let him into my apartment. At first he only came out at night, and would hide under my bed. But slowly he began playing with the toys I left out (quite noisily actually, I couldn't sleep well for months.) At some point he started to come into the room to eat while I was around, but still wouldn't come near me. Then he started letting me play with him with fishing toys, while still keeping his distance.

Several months in, in May, my father suddenly passed away. I booked a ticket to go home and be with my family, but spent two long days in my apartment alone, barely eating or getting out of bed. During this time, Kiwi opened up when I really needed it and let me play with him, and even purred a bit.

A friend looked after Kiwi while I was in the US, and when I returned, something amazing happened. Kiwi began rubbing against my legs and purring. He did this for a few days, and one day I reached down to pet him and he didn't run away. He leaned into my hand and let me scratch under his chin and behind his ears while purring.

That was the end for me. I canceled the listing on the adoption site and told my vet to take the flyers down. I decided Kiwi was mine. I begged my coordinator to let me keep him even though my apartment doesn't allow pets, since it will only be for one year until I return home. Now we're looking into steps needed to prepare him to fly to the US with me next year. I really love him and I'm so happy to have him in my life now.

This post is rather long, but I wanted to share my experience with this in Japan, since it was surprising and disappointing to me that Japan has such a lack of resources around animal rescue. I hope that in the future, Japan's animal rescue system can grow and begin to see the cat population growth for the problem that it is and work to correct it. It's frustrating to see tourists brag about their trips to Japan's cat islands, when these are not quirky tourist spots, but ecological and inhumane disasters.

I want to thank everyone who offered support to Kiwi's recovery, including my coordinators who really went above and beyond to help me take him to the vet and find ways to get him adopted. I really felt a sense of community coming together, and it made me hopeful about the kindness of humanity.

Anyway, Kiwi is growing, happy, healthy, and has all his fur back, (though he is down two tiny balls.) He yells at me in the morning for food like any other spoiled cat and loves to cuddle and play. He means the world to me and I'm so happy that I plucked him out of the road that day. I recently made an Instagram account to post pictures of him, so if you're interested in following, the link is here.

Thank you so much for reading, and I hope we can all work together to improve the stray animal situation around the world.

[your-enby-antihero]

Caleb and the two very hot purple people that are sitting at the next table over

Based on a  tumblr post

Caleb works as a teacher at the Soltryce Academy. His life is fairly normal, not very notable at all, but when he meets two people at a bar he becomes an utter mess.

also available on ao3

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Chapter 9: Caduceus Clay Enters at the Most Inopportune Time Ever

Summary: Caduceus Clay is a normal good man, though his friends are a bit strange he enjoys his life in Rexxuntrum. He goes about his normal day before walking into something he did not expect.

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Caduceus Clay was a simple creature, he liked plants and making good tea. He liked breezy mornings with comfortable cardigans. He liked seeing the good morning texts from his friends wishing him a pleasant day. Caduceus liked living in Rexxuntrum, the hustle and bustle of academy and university students filled his cafe for all the hours of his day and the locals around the area were nice as well. He was glad that Molly and Essek had decided to move here as well, it would have been disappointing if they all had been separated. Yasha was very sweet, Caduceus enjoyed her company a lot. She would swing by the cafe in the mornings and they would chat about gardening and weird bugs and life. Overall he was happy, life was easy and the people were good. No massive problems to be dealt with or friends in grave distress. 

Jester was a welcome new addition to his life and Fjord was a nice friendly face at the temple every now and then. Molly had introduced the couple to Caduceus a few weeks after they had all made the move from Rosohna. Fjord had been a bit lost in his early studies and a loss of one of his family members brought him to the temple of Melora. Fjord had introduced Caduceus to the community of Melora followers here in Rexxuntrum and he was grateful. As for Jester, her sweet and vibrant personality added such colour to his day, he actually had one of Jester’s forays into pottery proudly displayed on his cafe bar. He enjoyed experimenting with her in the kitchen of the cafe, making small batches of cakes and getting her expert opinion on the optimum level of cinnamon to add to his bear claws. Veth had been a recent addition to Caduceus’ life as well, even though meeting her was relatively recent. She was kind and funny and incredibly intelligent, and her family was lovely, Luc especially. Caduceus had babysat for the Brenattos on a few occasions recently, Veth worked as an event coordinator for a nonprofit that helped kids who were from financially struggling families gain practical life and career skills, she also ran the summer camp that the nonprofit put on every year. Considering that the kids who attended the programming throughout the year didn’t pay to be there, Caduceus was amazed at how nice the facilities were. When he had asked, Veth had just laughed and said that Jester’s father had been kind enough to make ‘generous donations’ a few times every couple of months that helped Veth and her staff provide such a great experience to these kids. 

Caduceus reminisced whilst he cleaned, the cafe was pretty empty by this time only a few people were finishing cups of tea or coffee, some getting the last few words of an essay done. As he smiled at a lavender-haired woman, Imogen, a college exchange student from Jrusar who was attending the local university to research astronomy. She had come in and had her usual, a warm cup of non-caffeinated lavender vanilla tea. Caduceus wished Imogen luck on her essay as she walked into the evening. She gave him a wave back before running to a rusted black and red car that blasted a mix of jazz and punk rock as she hopped into the packed seats. 

He also gave a wave to a cute older couple, with a few young kids in tow attached on the hip or at the side, that had recently been coming by. Supposedly they were in town for some business. They had first come in about a week or two ago but quickly became regulars. Caduceus appreciated the fact that these tourists, who seemed fairly nice, stopped by so often. The white-haired gentleman had also helped Caduceus with the till, one of the springs on the cash box had come loose and Caduceus hadn’t been able to properly close or open it. The day the couple, along with their children, walked into the cafe Caduceus had been on the phone with a repair worker but no one was available to come at that hour. The white-haired man had offered to fix it whilst the dark-haired woman that accompanied him sat with Caduceus and chatted. The couple, Percy and Vex, along with their two children, Vax’ildan and Gwendolyn, were now regulars, the family happily chatting during the mornings before declarations of business to be done sounded Caduceus’ direction.

Caduceus said his goodbyes to the other few patrons before turning his wooden sign, that Jester had made him, to closed. He gathered up his things, including the cake that he had made that day. It was a sponge cake lightly flavoured with lemon and was topped with a light glaze. It was something he was planning on adding to his menu of sweets but wanted his friends' opinions on whether the recipe was just right. As he took off his apron and locked his door. He wandered over towards where he was meeting up with Beau, Yasha, Essek, and Molly for a quick meal.

As the door pushed open Caduceus heard the lovely sound of chimes and also heard a tirade of shouting. 

“Lucien, you- you sick motherfucker. You don’t- you don’t just say that to someone! You barely even know him! I should take this to the press!”

“Molly you prude, if you aren’t going to make a move I will,” Lucien balked back.

He took a few steps in, observing the site before him. He saw the plethora of bodies moving and Caleb’s unmoving. His eyes moved towards the worried shouts and the sight of two drow in a booth.

“Oh sweet Luxon, Essek? Essek are you alright,” Verin wasn’t paying attention to the mess that was Molly and Lucien but more on his brother, who was very much mumbling himself into a panic.

Beau and Yasha chuckled (well one would probably say Beau’s chuckle was more of a gut-heaving laugh but…) together at the vision before them. Molly’s other brother, Kingsley, was barking out his own laughs, shouting for Molly to quote ‘get ‘im’. The aforementioned Caleb was face down on the bar top. Yasha turned in the direction of the new noise and locked eyes with Caduceus. 

“Oh my, well I’m sorry to interrupt-” Caduceus started before the rest of the eyes turned to him, “but Caleb isn’t awake. I going to check on him, that looks like a pretty nasty face plant. Yasha where do you keep your first-aid kit Molly and Lucien might need a bandage or two. I can check on Essek in a moment but Verin looks like he’s got it. Oh, and I brought cake?”